A man has appeared in court following an alleged robbery in Dundee’s Balunie Avenue.
A police investigation was launched after reports on an incident in the area on Friday night.
Emergency services were called to the scene and a 62-year-old was taken to hospital.
Darren Jackson made no plea when he appeared on petition at the city’s sheriff court.
The 31-year-old faces allegations of assault and robbery, and vehicle theft.
He is further accused of driving while disqualified and without insurance.
Jackson, who is from Dundee, was remanded in custody and will make a second appearance at the same court next week.
Bus bother
A drunken passenger with a “clinking” carrier bag smashed a bus window when he thought the driver had taken a wrong turn.
Christopher Cantwell, 54, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted a “concerning” incident on a Stagecoach night service through rural Perthshire.
Fiscal depute Carrie-Ann Mckenzie said Cantwell boarded the bus at Perth’s South Street at around 9.35pm on August 10 last year.
“He was observed to be intoxicated,” she said. “He was in possession of a carrier bag, which witnesses heard clinking as he moved.”
When Cantwell was told the bus didn’t go as far as Glenfarg, he said he would travel on it anyway and sat at the rear.
The coach continued to Abernethy where all other passengers got off.
“The driver told the accused he would be going back to Perth,” said the fiscal depute.
Again, Cantwell seemed fine with this.
But by about 10.20pm, he was pacing up and down the bus and shouting to the driver that he was going the wrong way.
Moments later, the driver heard the sound of glass smashing.
“He stopped the bus and left the driver’s cab,” said Ms Mckenzie. “He observed there was a hole in the rear window and a glass bottle on the floor.”
Cantwell was told to stay on the bus while they waiting for police to arrive.
When he tried to push passed the driver, he noticed blood on his hands.
Officers spoke to the driver when he returned to the depot at Inveralmond.
They later traced Cantwell walking along the A912.
Cantwell, of Greenbank Crescent, Glenfarg, admitted breaking the bus window and resisting or obstructing officers as they tried to arrest him.
He also admitted possession of cannabis, which police recovered from his rucksack.
Solicitor Jamie Baxter, defending, said his client had been “self-medicating” for mental health issues.
“He has no recollection of the incident,” he said. “But he will accept responsibility.”
Sheriff Alison McKay said the offence reached the custody threshold.
“This would have been a very concerning incident, particularly for the driver,” she said.
Cantwell was placed on supervision for six months and must stay home between 7pm and 7am as part of a two month restriction of liberty order.
Fake news
A Dundee publican has been fined for spreading sordid misinformation about an SNP candidate days before an election.
John Justice made false claims about Chris Law MP on social media, alleging without foundation he was being investigated for sexual misconduct.
Mr Law’s campaign team were alerted to the concerning Facebook post ahead of the Dundee West snap election in 2019.
The post read: “Unbelievable. Watch the news on the next day or two, Chris Law SNP investigated for taking nude photographs without the woman’s consent. You heard it hear first.”
Justice denied breaking the law, claiming he had a reasonable belief that his allegations were true.
He told Dundee Sheriff Court the claim was being investigated by a Scottish journalist rather than police.
But he was found guilty after a one-day trial.
Sheriff George Way told Justice, of Whitehall Street, it was a “deliberate attempt to slur and besmirch the candidate.”
Steak bake attack
A Perth thug who lobbed a steak bake at a woman in the street has been jailed for 20 months.
James Russell hurled the Greggs pastry during a terrifying encounter outside rival city centre baker Murrays.
The 43-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted acting in a threatening manner, likely to cause fear or alarm, on October 26 last year.
The court heard the outburst came after a separate incident where Russell dragged his sick girlfriend out of her bed and berated her for chatting online to male friends.
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