Learner driver Arran Murphy drove at police in a Fife village.
The 19-year-old drove dangerously through Lumphinnans on April 25 2021 in a Honda Civic, before turning the vehicle towards police when he was cornered.
Police saw Murphy driving with two passengers on Main Street at 3am and turned to follow but lost the car to sight until they caught up with him in a nearby car park.
Fiscal depute Laurelle Johnstone told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court: “Officers positioned their vehicle to stop the accused’s vehicle exiting.
“The accused drove at speed towards the police vehicle before mounting the kerb to drive around it and drove off at speed.”
Police followed as he drove towards Lochgelly and he was eventually chased on foot into Cowdenbeath Golf Club, before being caught.
The court heard after being arrested, he told police they never activated their blue lights and a social work report stated he had panicked.
He was had a provisional licence, no insurance and had failed to stop for police.
Sheriff Timothy Niven Smith deferred sentence for two weeks, noting Murphy had previously refused to complete unpaid work and supervision and his caravan accommodation in Blairingone makes an ankle tag unsuitable.
Murphy was released on bail.
Contempt
A Rosyth woman has been jailed for contempt after a sustained rant in which she demanded a sheriff recite her judicial oath and claimed a court had no lawful authority. Elizabeth Richardson laughed as she was jailed for a fortnight for disrupting proceedings at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Break-out
Fife man Ryan Wotherspoon has admitted causing more than £1,500 worth of damage after being forced to break out of the development site in which he was cruising around in a 4×4.
He appeared from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to admit maliciously cutting through a padlock and panes on a gated fence at the Westfield site in Cardenden.
The site is owned by Hargreaves Land, which plans to install a £150 million energy-from-waste facility there.
However, solicitor David Cranston said the site – an abandoned colliery – had been used for “recreational purposes” and when Wotherspoon, 41, was there in November 2020, he turned to vandalism to leave.
He added Wotherspoon, of the village’s Carden Castle Avenue, had been “mucking about in a 4×4 within” but found the entrance to the site was no longer available to leave by so he broke through the gate.
Fiscal depute Laurelle Johnstone said the damage caused cost £1,565 to repair.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith deferred sentencing until November 3 for reports.
The court heard that in March, Wotherspoon was disqualified from driving for two years.
The self-employed ground-worker was also recently given 12 points and a fine of £440 after admitting twice driving without insurance.
Snooker loopy
A drug dealer’s strop at Perth Prison cost taxpayers more than £800. Garry Davidson flew into a rage after a disagreement with staff at the jail’s C-Hall. He picked up balls from a snooker table and threw them through a large, outfacing window.
