A murderer’s temper tantrum locked down part of Perth Prison, causing staff and inmates to take shelter from flying pool balls.
Alan Dewar, serving life for the killing of an Inverness teenager, flew into a rage after a family visit was cancelled.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how prisoners in the wing had to be locked in their cells for their own safety.
One guard had to throw himself to the ground to avoid being struck by a pool ball.
Dewar, 34, appeared in the dock and admitted a charge of culpable and reckless conduct on October 11 2022.
Prison officer dropped to the floor
Fiscal depute Stephanie Paterson said: “At about 5.20pm, prison officers were on duty when they received a call to attend at C-Hall.
“They arrived and heard a loud commotion. It sounded like items breaking.
“The officers entered the hall and assisted in securing prisoners safely in their cells.
“Back-up arrived shortly afterwards.”
She said: “The accused was noted to be standing at the end of the hall with pool balls in his hand.
“It is observed that a number of other balls were loose and seemed to have been thrown down the hall.”
The prosecutor said: “Once all other prisoners were secured, officers tried to calm the accused.
“He started throwing balls at two officers.
“One had to drop to the floor to avoid being struck.
“They then left the area.”
Ms Paterson said: “Having viewed the CCTV, it was accepted that the pool balls were thrown in the direction of the officers rather than directly at them.
“The accused was calmed and taken to his cell.”
Working towards his release
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: “This man is serving life and has completed sixteen-and-a-half years.”
He said his client, a father-of-two, had been expecting a visit from his family later that day.
But the visit never happened due to a “miscommunication,” said Mr Holmes.
“Mr Dewar was very upset by this and his reaction was to conduct himself in the way that your lordship has heard,” he told Sheriff Craig McSherry.
“He has since completed a course which has improved his situation in terms of his release.
“He is very much hoping to move towards that. He has no outstanding matters.”
Sheriff McSherry jailed Dewar for 10 months, to run concurrently with his existing sentence.
Increasing jail time
Dewar, who has since been moved to HMP Shotts, was jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years for the drug-fuelled murder of his 17-year-old neighbour Joshua Mitchell in 2007.
He stabbed Joshua, who had learning difficulties, through the heart because he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”
Dewar had 32 months added to his sentence in 2010 for attacking a fellow Polmont inmate with a pool cue.
In 2022, he had his sentence extended by another eight months following a brawl in HMP Perth’s C Hall.
Dewar battered Fife thug Casey Japp, just weeks after he was jailed for assaulting a teenage girl in Lochgelly.
Six years ago, Joshua’s family campaigned for Dewar to be kept out of Inverness.
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