A 54-year-old man tried to smash his way into a Perth gym using a ladder.
Neighbours called police when they saw William Taylor lurking outside Club 300 on Jeanfield Road.
Taylor appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Wednesday and admitted attempting to break into the fitness centre on December 5, 2020.
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson told the court: “The gym is not covered by CCTV.
“A neighbour witnessed the accused outside the building, acting suspiciously, at around 7.30pm.
“A short time later, she saw the accused carrying a ladder.
“He made an attempt to smash a window.”
The neighbour called 999 and Taylor was traced by officers at a nearby park.
Solicitor Billy Somerville, defending, said: “Mr Taylor accepts that he was consuming large amounts of illicit substances at the time.
“His recollection of the incident is practically zero.”
Sheriff Kevin McCarron told Taylor, of Scott Street: “This happened in December 2020 and it seems that since then you have managed to get your act together.
“I want to ensure that continues.”
Taylor was placed on supervision for a year.
Firework firestarter back in the dock
A prisoner locked up for starting a £43,000 blaze at a Fife block of flats has been caught with an illegal SIM card in his cell.
HMP Perth guards found the contraband during a routine search of Jack Bonner‘s room.
The 23-year-old said he was using the card because he felt “isolated” after moving to Perth from Polmont.
His solicitor told the court: “He’d gone from being one of the oldest in the jail to being one of the youngest.
“He just wanted to keep in touch with friends and family.”
Bonner, listed on court papers as a prisoner in Perth, was jailed for five years and eight months in 2019 after admitting to assault, robbery and wilful fire-raising.
Homeowner Ross Quinn was left with a £43,000 repair bill.
Bonner also robbed a petrol station at knifepoint, after claiming he ran out of cigarettes.
Sheriff Kevin McCarron heard that Bonner lost his privileges at Perth Prison for seven days after guards found the SIM card inside his state-issued phone.
“Obviously there are rules that you need to obey,” said the sheriff.
Bonner was jailed for four months. The term will run concurrently, alongside his current sentence and will not impact his release date.
Exposed to police
A rowing couple ended up in the dock together after the woman dropped her pyjama trousers in front of police and urged officers to look at her naked genitals.
Charmaine Mollison was fined £100 for making the officers “uncomfortable” by flashing at them after they arrested her and partner Rossco Stern.
She was in the back of the police van when she lifted one leg and shouted at the police to have a closer look at her private parts.
Sheriff Robert More said: “I appreciate the discomfort the police would have felt. The most significant aspect of this is that the police were put to such inconvenience.”
Class A drugs found in Perth
A 39-year-old man who was caught with heroin and Oxycodone at his Perth home has been placed on supervision for 10 months.
Andrew Townsley admitted possession of the class A substances on November 3, 2020.
Police recovered them from his Ross Avenue flat.
Townsley was sentenced when he appeared before Sheriff Kevin McCarron at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
The crown had already accepted not guilty pleas to similar charges from former co-accused Chloe Hamilton.
This is sooo unfair…
A Dundee lout described as a “truculent teen” has been locked up for refusing to do his community payback work.
So-called “golden boy” James Ger swore at social workers, threw down gardening shears and complained: “This is bulls***”.
The 18-year-old looked shocked when Sheriff David Hall remanded him in custody, asking: “Who do you think you are?”
Ger had been warned in June he faced custody after repeatedly failing to complete his community payback order.
He will now spend the next two months in Polmont.
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