A former soldier’s eye fell out in the dock as he waited to go on trial in connection with a seven-hour stand-off with an armed police response unit.
James Walker caught the false eye in his hand and cleaned it before returning it to its socket prior to being found guilty by a jury in relation to the Pitlochry siege.
Walker held police at bay for several hours as the streets around his home were cordoned off and armed officers trained their weapons on his home.
He remained in the house with three young children as trained police negotiators tried unsuccessfully to persuade Walker to give himself up.
The siege only came to an end when armed officers with shields stormed the back door of the property.
It is understood that Walker had attracted police attention after posting a warning on Facebook about what he was planning to do. Further Facebook messages made threats to police officers.
Walker, 49, of East Moulin Road, Pitlochry, was found guilty by the jury at Perth Sheriff Court of acting in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear or alarm at his home on April 12 2013.
They found him guilty of shouting and swearing and making verbal threats to police officers as well as refusing to hand over the children to their mother.
The jury found a charge of attacking four police officers with household items not proven and sentence was deferred on Walker for the preparation of reports.
The trial went ahead after several preliminary hearings into Walker’s mental state.
It was during one of those that his glass eye – which was clearly irritating him – popped out into his hand.
It is understood that Walker may have lost his eye as a result of combat injuries.