A serial offender from Dundee admitted having a Stanley knife in his pocket during a “stooshie” at a city bank.
Steven Hutton was brought from HMP Perth to Dundee Sheriff Court to admit possessing the offensive weapon on November 16 this year.
Police received a call from a High Street bank and found Hutton, 43, with the blade in his jacket pocket.
Hutton has been on remand since appearing in court in private the following day.
He has four previous convictions for carrying offensive weapons and a High Court conviction for a firearms crime in 2008.
In 2018, he was jailed for almost four and a half years for dealing heroin.
Solicitor Theo Finlay said his client had been tearing up a flood-damaged carpet and unwittingly went into town with the knife in his pocket and got into a “stooshie” at the bank.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown released Hutton on bail and ordered reports ahead of sentencing on February 6.
Paedophile coach
A girls’ football coach from Dundee set up online profiles to groom a 14-year-old by paying her cash to send him explicit photographs. Former soldier Christopher Sinclair, 41, was running an under-15s team as a volunteer coach while players’ parents were unaware he was a paedophile.
Conversion
A thug who clubbed a man – who gave evidence against him in court – with a piece of wood is considering converting to Islam to help “examine his conduct and motivate him to change”.
Zack de Shafta, of Atholl Street in Dundee, has been released from prison after admitting the assault in the city.
The sheriff court heard that on May 13 this year, De Shafta struck his victim on the mouth with the wood, causing a loose tooth and an abrasion on the man’s lip.
The attack took place on Kirk Street in the presence of others.
De Shafta also admitted brandishing a pole and shouting and swearing during an argument in a close on Tweed Crescent exactly a month later.
Solicitor John McLaughlin said his client had been on remand for 146 days and completed a 10-week construction course in jail.
He added: “He’s hoping to go to college.
“His further remand has allowed him to reflect on a number of things.
“He has also started studying Islam and wishes to convert.
“He finds that helpful in examining his conduct and motivating him to change.
“This is the first time he’s really got to a stage in his life that he can see something positive on the horizon.
“He was under the influence of drink and drugs on both occasions.”
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown released de Shafta, 27, on bail and ordered reports ahead of sentencing on January 12.
Hero-turned-bully
A decorated war hero who once shot a Taliban warlord from a mile away has been jailed for domestically abusing an ex-partner. Christopher Reynolds admitted engaging in a course of abusive conduct towards the woman, including threatening to kill her and persistently contacting her via phone calls, texts, social media and emails.
Found at bowling club
A would-be thief has admitted being found in the curtilage of an Arbroath bowling club.
Dylan Breen, 26, was found outside the Abbey Bowling Club on Walker Place on June 12 this year.
At Forfar Sheriff Court, he admitted it could reasonably be inferred his intention was to steal from the premises.
Breen, of Sidney Place in Arbroath, had his sentencing deferred.
Vehicle thief chase
Thief Guy Weston stole a Transit van, motorbike and trailer in Tayside and smashed a police officer’s arm in a close doorway when he was caught. Banned and uninsured Weston was chased through Dundee after stealing the vehicles from Kirriemuir and Glamis.
River throw threat
At Forfar Sheriff Court, Brechin man Callum Milne, 30, of Annat Road, Montrose, admitted a six-month campaign of abuse towards his partner, including threatening to throw her in a river.
He admitted abusing the woman between Christmas Day 2021 and May 18 2022 at various locations in Brechin.
He acted in a threatening manner, called the woman insulting and derogatory names and stated he would refuse to let her leave the property they were in.
Milne injured the woman by striking her with a backpack and blamed her for his poor attendance at work.
He also threatened to smash a slate over her head and to throw her in a river.
He will be sentenced on January 25 after reports are prepared.
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