A man stole Barbie dolls in a raid on a Fife supermarket.
Daniel Lester took the dolls as part of a haul from Aldi in Kirkcaldy.
His solicitor David Cranston said his client was going to sell the popular dolls as the 38-year-old needed money for food and electricity.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith asked for a value of the stolen dolls.
Mr Cranston quipped: “They may have been cheaper last year than this year” in reference to the current craze for all things Barbie thanks to the movie blockbuster starring Margot Robbie.
At Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, Lester, of Russell Street, Lochgelly admitted stealing alcohol, sweets, clothing and the Barbies from Aldi in Ferrard Road on December 20 last year.
He was fined £190, which was converted to a week in prison due to his inability to pay.
War veteran caged
An 82-year-old war veteran has been jailed after molesting two young girls in Angus. Michael Haugh, from Letham, Angus, was convicted of two charges of molesting young girls, one at Arbroath swimming pool, after a trial in June.
Drug-drive change
A court has adjourned sentencing on a man who pled guilty to driving with cocaine in his system, after he appeared to change his story.
Grant Stainer previously admitted being behind the wheel on Dunsinane Road on November 13 2021 while more than 10 times the permitted drug-drive level.
He pled guilty to driving his Vauxhall Vectra with 548 mics of benzoylecgonine – a substance made when the body breaks down cocaine – in his blood stream. The legal limit is 50 mics.
The case was halted when Stainer, 50, returned to Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing.
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton said she had been forced to quit acting for Stainer after he gave a “contradictory” explanation to social workers preparing a background report.
Stainer, of Moulin Crescent, Perth, told the court: “It’s just not black and white in my eyes”.
Sheriff Mark Thorley adjourned sentencing until next month to give Stainer the chance to seek further legal advice.
“We will then look at whether we need to withdraw the plea or not,” the sheriff said.
‘Violated’ in club
Labourer Michael Herriott, 27 has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at a Kirkcaldy nightclub by “rubbing his head back and forward” in her breasts. The town’s court heard he left his victim feeling “shocked” and “violated” by his “joke” at Society in the early hours of November 6 last year.
Homophobic outburst
Arran Thomson, 32, lashed out and made homophobic comments as hospital staff tried to help him after a drugs overdose.
The Perth Prison inmate appeared from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to plead guilty to four assaults and one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, aggravated by homophobia.
Procurator fiscal depute Lora Apostolova said he was brought in to Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital on April 15 this year after overdosing on Valium.
He was restrained by security guards after he became aggressive and tried to get into other patients’ rooms and an oxygen mask was placed over his mouth after he spat on them.
While being restrained, Thomson told a male nurse: “Get off my legs you fat f***ing p**f. You are obviously homosexual”.
Thomson was taken to Kirkcaldy police station, where he struggled with a female police constable and kicked her in the head.
He also spat on a male police custody and security officer’s head.
Sheriff James Williamson adjourned sentencing until August 10 to obtain a background report but said a custodial sentence is inevitable.
He added he wants to see what post-release supervision may be required and what risk Thomson poses to members of the public.
Coked-up crash
A cocaine-fuelled Angus engineer shunted another motorist down an embankment while almost three times over the drug-drive limit. Alistair Birse, 30, left his victim with “potentially life-threatening” injuries when he crossed the carriageway on the A932 and sent her car off the road.
Brandished knife
A Perth dad who picked up a kitchen knife during an argument with his son has been fined.
Michael Njoroge appeared at Perth Sheriff Court to admit acting in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, brandishing a knife and throwing it in the presence of his 32-year-old son.
Njoroge kicked off just before midnight on October 2 last year at his home on Dunkeld Road.
After picking up a kitchen knife, he was struck on the head by a bowl thrown by his son.
Solicitor John McLaughlin said: “He accepts entirely that it’s not the right way to act.”
Sheriff David Hall fined the 54-year-old £400, plus a £20 victim surcharge.
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