A Perth man was more than double the drink-drive limit when he got behind the wheel after a family row.
Edward Wilson had been drinking with his adult son at home in Weaverswell Crescent on January 7 last year.
Perth Sheriff Court heard police were called to the street that evening, in response to a separate matter.
They saw Wilson driving his wife’s Volkswagen mobility car with the passenger door open.
He was breathalysed and arrested after police noticed a strong smell of booze.
Wilson admitted driving outside his home with a reading of 48 mics of alcohol in his system. The legal limit is 22 mics.
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton said her client had eight beers and a gin with his son but had gone outside to “calm down” when his son became aggressive.
“He foolishly got into the car and drove a few doors down the street.
“His son had tried to get into the car, which is why the passenger door was open.”
Sheriff Gillian Wade fined Wilson £540 and banned him from driving for a year.
“You entered the car when you ought not to have done so,” she said.
‘Token’ payment
A one-punch thug whose victim needed nearly £8,000 of dental work has been ordered to pay “token” compensation of just £270. Dale McClure, 23, of Albert Street, Dundee, carried out a vicious assault outside a city pub in March 2020.
Jailed again
An abusive boyfriend whose partner was spotted fleeing a Perth block of flats in just pyjamas and socks has been jailed again.
Neighbours called police after hearing the woman’s “blood-curdling scream”.
They saw Peter Alexander chasing after her at the city’s Kirkgate Mews in October 24, last year.
The 22-year-old was originally sentenced to a six-month Restriction of Liberty Order, meaning he would have to stay in his home between 7pm and 7am, and from 8am to 5pm when he is on night-shift.
In July, he was jailed for eight months for breaching a court order to stay away from his victim.
Alexander returned to court – via video link from prison – and admitted also breaching his Restriction of Liberty order.
Sheriff Gillian Wade said the curfew had been imposed as a “direct alternative to custody.”
She jailed Alexander for two months.
The sentence will run concurrently with his present jail term.
The court previously heard how Alexander told witnesses: “She’s crazy, she’s over-reacting,” after chasing the woman down the street.
He had admitted a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards his partner.
House-warming punch
An abattoir worker punched his girlfriend in the face during a get-together at their new Blairgowrie home. Costel Grosu, 29, got drunk and lashed out at his partner, leaving her with a bruised and swollen face, Perth Sheriff Court heard.
Family abuse fine
A 38-year-old labourer has been fined after being abusive towards his mother and brother.
Gordon Taylor pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing and throwing items at a window.
The incident happened at Camilla Road, Cardenden, on April 17 this year.
Taylor, of Eriskay Road in Falkirk, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to admit the charge.
Procurator fiscal depute Catherine Stevenson said Taylor was “heavily under the influence” when an argument broke out over an item in the freezer and Taylor called his mum and brother “weirdos.”
The fiscal depute said Taylor’s anger escalated and his mum called 999 as he started shouting, swearing and banging in the living room.
He then threw items at a window, before police arrived a short time later.
Defence lawyer Alexander Flett described the incident as a “fallout” between Taylor and his brother caused by him drinking too much alcohol.
Mr Flett said alcohol misuse is something his client continues to struggle with.
Sheriff Francis Gill fined Taylor £315 and told him his behaviour was unacceptable
Sick assaults
A sex offender who plied a 16-year-old with alcohol before assaulting her in Dunfermline passed on two “highly transmissible sexually transmitted diseases” during the attacks. Repeat sex offender Lewis Dodo, 46, has been locked up for almost three years after the sheriff said the infection was a “serious aggravating factor” in his assaults.
Case deserted
Court proceedings against a Perth man accused of attacking a woman have been dropped.
Craig MacLeod was due to stand trial this week, accused of an assault at his home in South Methven Street on September 13 2021.
It was alleged the 41-year-old repeatedly punched a woman on the head and pushed her, all to her injury.
The case was deserted simpliciter after Sheriff Gillian Wade heard the accused had failed to turn up to court for a third time and MacLeod had not been cited to appear by prosecutors.
It means the prosecution has been brought to an end without the facts being determined. The case cannot be re-raised.
