A 39-year-old Leslie man has been found guilty of illegally possessing a stun gun at home.
John Arnott, of Bank Place, had denied the charge during a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
Evidence was heard the stun gun was found in a drawer in his kitchen during a police search.
He claimed to know nothing about it but a jury unanimously convicted him of being in possession of the prohibited weapon, contrary to the Firearms Act 1968, on June 15 2020.
At an earlier court hearing, Arnott admitted a second charge of being in possession of cannabis on the same date.
Sheriff Charles Macnair deferred sentence until August 3 and Arnott’s bail was continued.
Speeding footballer
Former Dundee and Rangers footballer Bob Malcolm was fined for speeding.
The retired defender was recently Kelty Hearts assistant manager and played for Cowdenbeath.
He was caught travelling at 45mph in a 30 zone on Glasgow’s A8 at Edinburgh Road.
Malcolm was behind the wheel of a Fiat Doblo people carrier on March 31 2023.
The player’s vehicle was also found to have a faulty tyre.
Malcolm, of Moodiesburn, North Lanarkshire, pled guilty by letter at Glasgow’s Justice of the Peace to both charges.
Justice Bernadette Campbell fined him £275 and put four penalty points on his licence.
Triple rapist
Triple rapist Ruaraidh McCartney, 29, from Perthshire, who “got a thrill” out of his victim’s pain, faces prison after being convicted at the high court. A jury trial heard what began as consensual sex turned increasingly violent as the former farm worker forced himself on the women.
A92 drug-driver
A drug-driver was caught with cocaine in his system on the A92 after moving his broken down vehicle “a short distance”.
Robert Conway‘s vehicle had been on a test drive with a mechanic when it ran out of fuel.
Conway, who had taken illicit drugs the night before, arranged a lift to the vehicle to move it, as it was in an “unsafe position”.
He admitted driving a van between Chapel and Lochgelly while impaired by the drug on November 8 2021.
Conway, of Greenacres in Blairadam, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £300.
Domestic bully
A violent bully from Dundee abducted and throttled a woman during sustained campaigns of domestic abuse. Jamie McGrath, 34, had controlled and mocked his victims and subjected them to coercive behaviour for two years, a court was told.
Rapist’s prison SIM
A rapist who abducted and repeatedly assaulted a teacher in Perth has been sentenced for having an illicit SIM while in jail.
Barry Dalton has been released from jail but admitted having the contraband on April 22 last year.
Now of Westray Court in Perth, the 49-year-old returned to the dock to be sentenced after meeting with social workers.
Sheriff William Wood ordered former used car salesman Dalton to complete 80 hours of unpaid work in three months.
He said: “Because of your record, I still need to take a serious view of it.
“It’s the sort of offence that often does attract a custodial sentence.”
Dalton was jailed for a decade in 2014 for rape, abduction and other offences.
The sentence was reduced by two years on appeal.
Tax con pimp
A tax dodging pimp posed as a plumber to con HMRC into paying him nearly £10,000 while he was running a string of Romanian prostitutes across Dundee. Eduard Stanciu filed a false claim to the taxman and was given a rebate of £9,840.56 while he was living off the immoral earnings of sex workers imported from his homeland. Stanciu pled guilty to charges earlier and returned to court for his crimes to be laid out in full.
‘You should be arresting paedos’
A drunk who was lifted in a Perth fried chicken joint told police: “You should be arresting paedos.”
Officers had to attended the Sizzlers chicken hut on Princes Street at 12.35am on June 2 last year after staff reported needing help removing drunken Mark Toal.
Fiscal depute Stephenie Hendry told Perth Sheriff Court: “He was heavily under the influence of alcohol.
“Staff informed officers that they wished the accused be removed from the shop because of his behaviour.
“He began to shout and swear.”
IT student Toal, 39, said: “I’ve done f*** all.”
He was placed in handcuffs and continued to swear.
While on route to West Bell Street HQ, he continued his tirade and said to police: “Where the f*** are you taking me?
“You should be arresting paedos. What the f*** am I arrested for?”
After being charged, he said: “It is a possibility I was cheeky.”
Solicitor Steven Lafferty said: “I understand from him he has abstained from alcohol for the last six months.
“He’s little memory.
“He knows his behaviour is completely unacceptable.”
Sheriff William Wood imposed 90 hours of unpaid work, to be completed in three months.
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