A man who threatened shoppers in an Arbroath supermarket has narrowly held on to his liberty.
Michael Nicoll appeared from custody at Forfar having been remanded over his failure to comply with the preparation of reports following the incident in Arbroath’s Timmergreens Co-op on March 14 in which he shouted and swore and threatened a man with violence.
Defence solicitor Emma Somerville said Nicoll, 27, of Newton Crescent, Arbroath, is “deeply sorry” for the offence.
“Before the unfortunate period of remand he was working well with support services and has not had a drug problem since the end of 2014.
“This offence took place out of the blue and he is completely apologetic to the court and the people involved; it should never have happened.
“He is trying to turn his life around,” added Ms Somerville.
Sheriff Pino Di Emidio said it was “almost beyond belief” that Nicoll had to be remanded for reports to be compiled.
“Given the lack of co-operation, what confidence can I have that he will actually co-operate with a structured deferred sentence.
“Sentencing options are limited given the past record and I want to make it absolutely clear that if there is any indication of failure to comply it seems the only course available is to impose a substantial amount of custody.”
Nicoll was placed on a high tariff structured deferred sentence, which will be reviewed in two months.