An Angus offshore worker who was ordered to write an essay about domestic abuse has been placed under supervision.
Craig Perrie, 41, had been given the unusual punishment homework after a violent row with his wife.
Sheriff Gregor Murray had warned Perrie he may not be allowed to travel to work in Senegal if he did not write a letter to the court, explaining his plans to stop being a domestic bully.
Perrie, from Monikie, had admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner and causing fear or alarm to his partner on March 6.
He was given five days to complete the written work and, combined with the findings of a social work report, his effort allowed him to avoid imprisonment and get to work.
When Perrie returned to Dundee Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Sheriff Murray said: “I have clearly expressed my concern.
“If you come again before the court, it’s likely you’re going to go into custody.”
The sheriff said it would “hopefully be beneficial to (Perrie’s) family” that he is under supervision for two years and he is to complete a programme for domestic abusers.
‘Bestial’ masks
Robert McCrindle donned a sinister rubber gas mask to raid a care home and a woman’s house in Leven.
CCTV footage showed the 42-year-old, with an accomplice, sneaking into Glenburnie Car Home and entering a resident’s room.
He was found guilty of breaking into the home and theft.
He also wore the same “bestial” mask hours earlier when the pair broke into a woman’s home in the town and assaulted the householder there.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard she thought she was going to be raped as McCrindle knelt on her chest as she lay in bed, while his accomplice rifled through her possessions.
He was jailed.
View the disturbing footage and read the full story here.
South Queensferry to Cupar joyride
A man took his parents’ car on a joyride from South Queensferry to Cupar.
Graeme Robertson appeared from custody at Dundee Sheriff Court to admit driving the Saab without permission on May 10 and failing to provide police with breath samples.
Police had been called to the Brooks Hotel in Edinburgh where Robertson, of Wellside Place in Aberdeen, had been staying as a guest.
Staff there had been concerned about his wellbeing and phoned police, who asked his parents to pick him up.
His parents took him to the nearby Dakota Hotel in South Queensferry but the 56-year-old refused to leave the vehicle when they got out to check in.
Robertson’s father returned half an hour later to collect his glasses and the car was gone.
He phoned his son, then the police.
Officers tracked Robertson down in Tarvit Drive in Cupar, smelling strongly of alcohol and with several partly-consumed bottles of alcohol in the car.
He was taken to Dundee Police Station where he twice failed to provide a breath sample.
Sheriff John Rafferty disqualified Robertson and released him on bail for reports to be compiled before sentencing on June 14.
‘Gangster’ – from Crieff
Self-styled “gangster” James McPhee was jailed for attempting to extort money from vulnerable people in his Crieff hometown.
He set himself up as a money lender on Snapchat, charging 100% monthly interest on loans and issuing chilling threats when he did not receive payment.
Lockdown habits
A Fife drug dealer caught with up to £24,000 worth of cannabis and cocaine has avoided being sent to prison.
Michael Johnstone previously admitted being concerned in the supply of the drugs at his home in Rosyth’s Davenport Place.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard police also found large quantities of cash when they raided the 31-year-old’s home in August last year.
Officers seized 16 cannabis seedlings from a tent, along with equipment including fans, a light and a thermometer.
In total, 1.8kg of cannabis was seized which police valued at being between £12,000 and £18,000, with the plants worth thousands as well.
Officers also seized 74 grammes of cocaine, thought to be worth between £4,000 and £6,000.
Police also recovered more than £7,000 in banknotes and hundreds of pounds in coins.
Defence lawyer David Bell said Johnstone’s drug use spiralled after losing both his jobs at the beginning of the first lockdown.
He turned to cannabis and cocaine, amassing debt and agreed to assist in the supply of drugs for those he owed.
The solicitor said Johnstone is now in full time employment at a cheese factory in Cowdenbeath and is studying a degree in business and marketing.
Sheriff James Williamson sentenced Johnstone to 300 hours of unpaid work and imposed a nine-month restriction liberty order – between 11pm-5am on weekdays and 8pm on Saturday to 5am on Monday.
Homemade drugs are da bomb
A man blew up his home in Dunfermline trying to make homemade hash oil.
Anthony Alari’s disastrous bid to make the potent drug from butane and cannabis ended in disaster when he shattered his windows, blew a hole in the wall and forced the evacuation of neighbours.
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
