A man who stole two bouncy castles in Fife has been given until December to save up compensation.
Ben Mackie appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Thursday to admit pilfering both inflatables from Glenrothes firm The Bouncy Castle Man Ltd, as well as a fan and a mat.
Defence solicitor Lee Qumseih said: “He’s moved on. He lost his job over this.
“He’d be happy to pay compensation.”
34-year-old Mackie is a former employee of the company, the court heard.
Now an escort vehicle driver for convoys transporting wide loads, Mackie was given three months to save money to pay the company back.
He was told by Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane the expected sum would be in the region of £2,000.
Mackie, of Colliston Avenue in Glenrothes, is due back on December 12.
Threat to blow up Ninewells
A violent thug who threatened to blow up Ninewells Hospital after doctors refused to let him smoke has been jailed.
Craig Lettice, who has an extensive criminal past, was restrained by police when he made the shock remark.
The 39-year-old had been brought to the Dundee hospital after he brutally assaulted his ex-partner in the city’s Provost Road.
Perth Sheriff Court heard her teenage son ran to her defence and pushed Lettice into a garden.
There, he staggered backwards into a washing line pole and dislocated his shoulder.
Lettice, of Pitairlie Road, appeared via video link and admitted assaulting his ex on December 17, 2020, by punching her on the head, seizing her by the hair and brandishing a bottle.
He further admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner at Ninewells, where he spat across the room and threatened to blow up the hospital.
Lettice also pled guilty to two charges of assaulting police officers by attempting to spit on them.
His solicitor told the court he had taken illicit valium and was feeling “socially isolated” at the time.
“These offences were very, very nasty and unpleasant, and he accepts that,” the lawyer said.
“He has a significant record but there has been no offending of a domestic nature before.”
Sheriff William Wood told Lettice: “This really was a nasty assault on your partner.
“Only a custodial sentence seems appropriate.”
Lettice was locked up for 18 months and will serve nine months on supervision once he’s released.
Cannabis farm bungalow
A pensioner grew a £12,000 cannabis farm in his Perthshire bungalow because he didn’t want to associate with drug dealers.
William Wilson, 66, used the class B-drug for pain relief, but he was unwilling to buy it from criminals on the street.
Police raided his home in Methven in October 2020, following a tip-off that it was being used to grow cannabis.
They found a range of illicit crops worth up to £600 each.
Wilson appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted producing a controlled drug at his Lynedoch Road home on October 30, 2020.
The first time offender was warned that the offence could warrant a jail sentence.
His not guilty plea to a second charge of being involved in the supply of the drug was accepted by the crown.
Claim baby was endangered by cocaine
A 30-year-old man has been accused of endangering a new-born baby’s life by allowing it to ingest cocaine.
Goe Wheeler appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Thursday and denied acting in a culpable and reckless manner.
Wheeler, of Myrtle Park, Blairgowrie, denies allowing the baby boy to ingest cocaine at a property in the Perthshire town between 24 September and 2 December 2020.
The charge alleges that the baby was able to ingest the Class A drug to “the danger of his life.”
Wheeler also denies a second charge of possessing Ecstasy in Blairgowrie on 11 December and the case was put off until later this month.
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