A Dundee man who set off fireworks from his living room window appeared at court on Tuesday.
What a rocket
Christopher Gaffney filmed himself setting off fireworks across the street and then posted the videos on SnapChat
The 35-year-old sent the missiles over the rear gardens in Brackens Road from his Drumlithie Place home, endangering residents and members of the public as a result on December 3 2019.
He was previously placed on a mentoring course and was ordered to continue it when he appeared in court.
Sheriff Alistair Carmichael said: “It sounds like (it) is doing you some good, and by extension, doing Dundee some good.”
Undertook police car
A business owner sped along the M90 in Perthshire and undertook a police car.
Idris Bozyil, who owns shops in Edinburgh and Deeside, was travelling at more than 80mph when he sped past the unmarked patrol vehicle.
The 50-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Tuesday and admitted driving carelessly on August 9, 2019, at around 9.40am near Bridge of Earn.
Fiscal depute David Currie said the police car had moved into the second lane to overtake a slow moving vehicle when Bozyil undertook it.
Defence agent David Holmes said his client had been travelling between his new business in Deeside and another of his shops in Edinburgh.
He said: “Mr Bozyil has about 25 employees and requires his licence to operate his business.
“He travels around 20,000 miles per year.”
Bozyil, of Chambers Street, Edinburgh, “very much regrets this matter,” Mr Holmes said.
Sheriff Neil Bowie imposed a fine of £700 and nine penalty points.
‘Depths of depravity’
A solicitor said his client’s knifepoint robbery of a taxi driver shows the “depths of depravity” to which drug dealers will sink to feed their habits.
Steven Stewart pressed a knife against his victim’s throat after climbing into his cab in Dundee.
The 39-year-old grabbed cash and ran off.
He was found and arrested by police, again with a knife in a public place, a month later.
Solicitor Theo Finlay, said: “This highlights the depths of depravity people can find themselves in with a desperate need to fund drug addiction.”
Stewart was jailed for three years.
Army doctor not guilty
Lt Col Simon Bloodworth has been on trial for three days at Perth Sheriff Court.
The trial heard evidence of a threat to kill the family dog, an affair discovered while searching for a buttered chicken recipe online and a cross-country pursuit of Bloodworth’s wife.
However, he has been found not guilty of a course of controlling domestic abuse against his wife over a period of a year.
