A bungling thief fled, leaving his tools behind, after being disturbed by a homeowner.
Damien Hunter, 41, was in the process of raiding a shed when the woman came out of her property to use the bins.
He has now been placed on a curfew after admitting breaking into the shed on Bank Street, Kirkcaldy, with intent to steal on February 4 last year.
Hunter, of the town’s Miller Street, must remain indoors between 9pm and 7am for five months
Booted from Force
A police sergeant from Dundee driven by a hatred of women to set up anonymous social media accounts to troll a female officer, has been told he will never be an officer again. British Transport Police Sergeant Connor Phillips, who worked in Camden laterlly, referred to his target as “my bitch” during a series of offences.
Christmas calamity
A Kirkcaldy motorist was caught at more than five times the drink-drive limit after as he moved his car on Christmas Day.
Robert Maldovan, 36, of Strathkinnes Road, had been on a night out the evening before and left his vehicle in a supermarket car park and decided to move it home “two streets away”.
Police stopped him at 6.20am on Oriel Road in the early hours of the morning.
Fiscal depute Jill Currie told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court: “A member of the public saw the accused driving in an erratic way.
“Police were contacted and officers on mobile patrol became aware of an Audi entering the road, with the accused driving.
“On approaching the driver’s door they immediately noticed the accused smelled of alcohol.
“He was unsteady on his feet and was slurring his words.”
Maldovan admitted driving with excess alcohol (111mics/ 22).
He was banned for 18 months and fined £750.
Grindr beast
A Perth paedophile posted photos of local schoolgirls and shared twisted rape fantasies on online dating app Grindr. Police discovered William Innes had taken the photos from parents’ social media accounts. He was also caught with a cache of child abuse material.
Heroin den
Thomas Murray, 34, turned his Arbroath shed into a heroin den in exchange for drugs to smoke there.
Fiscal depute Andrew Harding told Forfar Sheriff Court police raided his Glenogil Drive home on June 9 in 2020 and found, in the shed, a £600 wrap of heroin, which could be worth £1500 if divided into smaller deals.
Digital scales, snap bags and a safe were discovered.
Solicitor Billy Rennie said of Murray, now of Newton Avenue in Arbroath: “His position is that he used the shed to smoke heroin in and he did so with another individual, a male.
“He wasn’t gaining anything from this, other than being given a smoke of heroin from time to time.
“The charge is a serious charge but the context in which he was involved was allowing someone to use his shed and his reward for that was being allowed to smoke heroin provided by that individual.”
Murray admitted being concerned in the supply of heroin and sentence was deferred until March for reports.
Climbing chaos
A group of pals scaled the Forth Bridge and sparked a major emergency response. Tomer Brown, Ryan McLoughlin, Peter Taylor and Ricky Yuen were seen waving their arms and flashing a light from the top of the iconic railway bridge last summer. A police helicopter was scrambled and passing trains had to be slowed.
‘S***bags’
A “paranoid” woman who ranted at her upstairs neighbours and called them “s***bags” has been ordered to behave.
Jennifer Melville appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at Acremoar Drive, Kinross, on November 20 2021.
She turned up uninvited, shouted, swore and made abusive remarks.
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson said the victims heard a female voice shouting “s***bags” at 12.30am during a distrubance.
Melville was at the front door and was told to leave but she continued to yell.
Police were called and she told them to ‘f**k off’.
The court heard Melville, now of Appin Place, Perth, had been feeling “paranoid” that evening.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: “She clearly has her difficulties and she has a significant record.
“It seems to me that there should be some intervention by social workers to keep her on the straight and narrow.”
The sheriff deferred sentence until July for Melville to prove she can stay out of trouble.
15-times cocaine limit
Coked-up driver Allen Kerr, 68, blacked out and crashed his tipper lorry on the notorious A92 in Fife. He told a court he thought he was fit to drive despite being more than 15 times the limit for the class a drug.
Snapchat rampage
Jason Cameron, 22, of Greenlaw Crescent, Glenrothes, started a rampage that ended with him stamping on another man’s head because he was annoyed by teenagers taking Snapchat pictures.
Fiscal depute Catherine Stevenson told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court: “The accused and (the teens) were within a bedroom at the locus.
“(The teens) were taking photos of the accused using Snapchat filers, which irritated him and he stormed out and went downstairs.
“He started to throw items around the house.”
Later point Cameron came across his victim outside the property.
“He grabbed (him) and pulled him from a bench.
“He stamped on his head as he was now on the ground.
“(One of the teens) attempted to stop the accused.
“After leaving the locus the accused made a phone call to the police, informing them of where he was.”
The victim suffered cuts and bruises.
Cameron admitted assault to injury at a property in Balbirnie Road, Glenrothes, on October 28 last year.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and engaging in a struggle with a 15-year-old girl and another woman on the same date.
Sentence was deferred for reports and Cameron was remanded in custody.
Costly L-plate prank
Ewan Law, 22, from Crossgates, was caught behind the wheel with cannabis in his system after colleagues pranked him by putting an L-plate on his works van. Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard he will now lose his job as an apprentice joiner.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.