An asylum seeker has appeared in court accused of assaulting a police officer with nail clippers at Perth’s Station Hotel.
Moez Chaari denies attacking PC Jamie Smith at the Leonard Street establishment on Tuesday.
It is alleged he attempted to strike him on the body with the clippers.
The 27-year-old faces a second charge of breaching a bail condition.
Perth Sheriff Court heard Chaari, who is housed at the hotel, had been moved by authorities to Perth from Aberdeen.
He was released on bail, with a trial set for next month.
The Station Hotel and nearby Queen’s Hotel have been used to house asylum seekers since November 2021.
Lucky to be alive
A woman was told she was “exceptionally lucky” to be alive after causing her car to flip near the Tay Road Bridge during a dangerous spate of driving. Nicola Wojcik, 23, swerved between lanes before colliding with another vehicle on the A92. Her car travelled over a grass verge before hitting a stone wall and coming to rest on its roof.
Prison too pricey
An OAP with a lifetime driving ban has been fined after being caught driving again.
Robert Murphy previously pled guilty to driving while disqualified and without valid insurance at Trondheim Parkway, Dunfermline, on January 25 this year.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court, as Murphy audibly coughed and spluttered through proceedings, defence lawyer Alexander Flett said he is now 77 and “self evidently in very poor health”.
He said Murphy, of Inchkeith Drive, Dunfermline, no longer has access to a vehicle.
Sheriff Garry Sutherland highlighted Murphy’s previous time in custody has not stopped him driving – and more jail time would incur considerable public expense – so a stiff financial penalty would be more of a deterrent.
His lifetime disqualification was re-imposed and he was fined £800.
‘Bampot’
A sheriff branded Lewis Webster, 28, from Montrose, a “bampot” and told him he had invented a “cock and bull story” after claiming his drink was spiked before he caused havoc in Dundee city centre. He racially abused a police officer and created disturbances at the Overgate and Ninewells.
‘Footering about’
A drunken biker has been banned from the roads after injuring himself while moving a motorcycle from his driveway.
Craig Scott‘s neighbours on Summerfield Avenue saw him lying in a heap next to the bike after hearing a loud bang.
It was later revealed the 46-year-old was more than double the drink-drive limit (138mgs/ 50).
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Scott pled guilty to drink-driving on September 8 last year.
Fiscal depute Sarah High said emergency services were contacted after Scott was seen with a head injury. He was taken to Ninewells Hospital for treatment.
Solicitor Theo Finlay said: “It happened outside his driveway. He had people round, left them and was footering about with the motorbike and decided to switch it on.
“He lost control of it because of the fact he had a few drinks and caused himself a very serious injury.”
Sheriff Mark Thorley said the reading was “relatively high” and fined Scott – who has a previous drink-driving offence – £600 and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.
Drunk in the dock
Former soldier Scott Wilson, who carried out sex attacks on three Ninewells nurses, has been locked up after twice appearing drunk in the dock for sentencing at Dundee Sheriff Court. He was remanded in custody and there will be another attempt to sentence him next week.
Threatened sister
James Weight, 23, from Burntisland, threatened to punch his sister’s “lights out” after she called him a paedophile on the phone.
He then went to his sibling’s house in Aberdour, and banged and kicked her door while demanding entry on February 23 this year.
He appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing after earlier admitting behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Prosecutor Amy Robertson told the court that the pair were “joking around” on the phone but he became angry at the slur and threatened “I could come down there and punch your lights out”.
She contacted police but Weight arrived first, hammering her door so hard large cracks formed around the lock.
When police got there, Weight was still shouting threats and refused to stop.
Defence lawyer Gino Gambale said: “Mr Weight was called a name – paedophile – by his sibling.”
The lawyer said he did not want to go into detail in open court but said there are “certain historic difficulties for him” and that the comment “really struck a nerve”.
The lawyer added: “He was incredibly unhappy with what his victim had said”.
Sheriff Garry Sutherland told Weight that whatever the provocation, his behaviour was completely unacceptable and sentenced him to 100 hours of unpaid work.
Attic attack
A Fife man tried to hit police with a can of paint when they found him hiding in his ex’s attic after he assaulted her in the street. Kyle McCormack, 28, from Lochore, eventually came down from the loft when police threatened to use a Taser.
Brothel charge warrant
Police are hunting for a woman allegedly involved in occupying a brothel in a Dundee flat.
A warrant was issued for the arrest of Damaris Marte at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Marte, 43, faces a single charge alongside 38-year-old Desire Padron-Gonzalez, of Watford, and Maria Almeida, 57, living in Valencia
It is alleged all three were the occupiers of a flat on Dens Road and knowingly permitted the premises to be used as a brothel between September 1 2022 and January 6 2023.
A further hearing was fixed for next month by Sheriff Mark Thorley.
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