An Arbroath man who stole electronics from his partner and took out a secret payday loan in her name to bankroll a gambling habit has been sentenced.
Gavin Anderson admitted the offences at Forfar Sheriff Court.
Between August 24 2021 and March 3 last year, he stole a dartboard and darts, an iPad, an Amazon Echo Dot and mail from his partner.
Between November 3 2021 to March 3 last year, Anderson took out a £300 payday loan from Quidmarket Loan Company in the name of his partner.
The money was transferred into a joint account and he quickly removed it.
Anderson, 33, of Millgate in Arbroath returned to the dock where solicitor Billy Rennie confirmed he had reimbursed the woman and the relationship is over.
He was ordered to to complete 60 hours of unpaid work.
Montrose 4 cleared
A group of Montrose men accused of a football spot-betting scam featuring former Arbroath striker Kane Hester have been cleared of all charges. Hester, Brodie Myres, Findlay Soutar and Calvin Parrot had been on trial all week accused of scamming bookmakers by betting on the football star being booked.
Sheriff’s dilemma
A 77-year-old Perth man who brandished a meat cleaver at his wife is posing a “dilemma” for a sheriff.
Cheung Fong pushed his partner out of their Darnhall Drive home while grasping the blade, the city’s sheriff court heard.
The father-of-five admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner on December 5, 2021, after a day of solo drinking.
Returning to the dock for sentencing – accompanied by a Cantonese interpreter – Fong was told the court was considering imprisonment.
Sheriff John MacRitchie said: “In terms of sentencing options, you present something of a dilemma.
“On one hand, the offence is particularly serious.
“Anyone who brandishes a cleaver knife in these circumstances has actually passed the custody threshold.
“I have to balance that against the fact you are aged 77 and you appear before me, effectively, as a first offender (with no analogous criminal history).”
The sheriff said: “Although the horrific potential consequence of your offending haven’t in fact occurred, this would have been extremely alarming.”
He said a fine would be unsuitable, as it could “punish the person this could should be protecting.”
A curfew could increase the risk to his wife, rather than decrease it, while the language barrier could hamper unpaid work.
Sentence was deferred for further background reports.
The court heard that bail conditions had been relaxed and he is living back at the family home.
Robbed pensioner
A Dundee thug has been jailed for a “terrifying” assault on his 82-year-old neighbour during a robbery at his home. Jason Forrest fought his way into the pensioner’s house, wrestled him to the ground and kneeled across his chest.
A drink driving mum ate chewing gum to mask the smell of booze after crashing into a car while more than five times the limit.
Samantha McIntosh, 45, had been drinking wine before colliding with an oncoming vehicle near a Co-op in Dalgety Bay’s Lt Sales Avenue, on January 12 this year.
She pled guilty to driving with excess alcohol (120mics/22) and careless driving.
McIntosh, of Forth View in Dalgety Bay, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing on Wednesday.
Procurator fiscal depute Rachel Barr told the court McIntosh had been drinking wine at home, drove to the local Co-op, then collided with an oncoming vehicle in the car park.
“Officers attended and on arrival it was clear the accused had been drinking due to the smell of alcohol and her manner.
“She also began to eat chewing gum to disguise the scent of alcohol”.
Defence lawyer Alexander Flett said his client, a mother of two, is a first offender who had pled guilty at the earliest opportunity.
Mr Flett said it was an error of judgement.
Sheriff James MacDonald fined McIntosh £800 and banned her for 18 months.
He said: “Unquestionably, this is a high reading and I have to deal with it accordingly.
“This was clearly an offence committed at a time of crisis in your own life and the lives of immediate family.
“You are also a first offender and have taken the first opportunity possible to plead guilty”.
Murder trial date set
A provisional trial date has been set for a Dundee man charged with murdering a great-great-grandfather. James O’Connor, 44, from Hilltown, is accused of killing 89-year-old Frederick Burge in Glastonbury, Somerset, on February 26.
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