A teenager spent Monday morning and early afternoon in court cells for interrupting a sentencing hearing, despite not even being due at court that day.
The youngster was ordered downstairs at Dundee Sheriff Court by Sheriff Gregor Murray after he began lambasting his friend who was called out by the sheriff for standing up during proceedings.
The disruption took place while serious domestic offender William Petrie was having his disposal decided (see below).
Solicitor John Boyle said the boy was apologetic.
“He wasn’t even due to be in court today. He does suffer from ADHD.”
“Which explains a lot,” Sheriff Murray replied.
The sheriff said the boy interrupted the course of justice and it was “vital that doesn’t happen” but he took no further action.
Serial abuser freed
A repeat Dundee domestic abuser has been released from custody after serving the equivalent of a three and a half year prison sentence. William Petrie, 27, tormented his victim for months including tricking her into a meeting caught on CCTV to threaten access to her children and getting associates to call her from prison.
Football fall-out
A Fife engineer seized his son by the face and tried to punch him in the head after an argument about his refusal to wear a football top.
Brian O’Brien, 47, pled guilty to the September 14 assault at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Procurator fiscal depute Lauren Pennycook said the pair were at O’Brien’s home address when an argument broke out and he seized his son’s face and began “squeezing” it.
The fiscal said: “He then released his grip of Mr O’Brien’s face and there was a scuffle between the two men.
“Brian O’Brien then attempted to punch (his son) but missed him”.
Defence lawyer Graham Inch said O’Brien, of High Street in Markinch, said his client’s 23-year-old son had moved back in with his parents and the family sat down to watch a football match – thought to be the Champions League clash between Rangers and Napoli.
The solicitor said O’Brien was drinking alcohol and an argument broke out about his son refusing to wear a football top.
Mr Inch said his client accepts he had been the one drinking and attributes no blame to his son.
Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane fined O’Brien £450.
Railed against teenager
A ScotRail worker assaulted a 15-year-old girl while he was on duty at a Fife train station. Charles Algeo, 52, punched the girl to the back of the head as she lay face down on the ground at Inverkeithing railway station. The court heard she had kicked out at him fuirst.
‘Dafties’
A Dundee driver fired abuse at police and then failed to provide breath samples.
Chelsea Duggan admitted failing to provide samples to police at West shell Street HQ after midnight on January 23, after earlier acting in a threatening or abusive manner on Clepington Road.
Duggan, of St Kilda Road, had failed to turn off her ignition while being quizzed by officers who had to cut the engine themselves.
She called the police “f***ing dafties” and “baldy b*****ds.”
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Sheriff John Rafferty fined the 30-year-old £390 plus a victim surcharge and banned her from driving for 15 months.
Death in custody inquiry restarts
The inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh in police custody in Kirkcaldy gets back under way on Tuesday. Here, we look back at the evidence heard in the first session of the probe, which is seeking to determine what happened on the night of May 3 2015 and if Mr Bayoh’s race was a factor in the 31-year-old’s death.
