A lorry driver has ended up with a criminal record after swearing at a cyclist in Dundee.
Pawel Pindel, from the Isle of Bute, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court to admit acting in a threatening or abusive manner on May 25 last year.
Fiscal depute Stephanie Paterson said: “At 4.15pm, the complainer left his place of work and began cycling his usual route home along Perth Road towards the junction with Riverside Drive.
“When doing so, he became aware of an LGV lorry, driven by the accused.
“A disagreement ensued between both regarding both of their manners of driving.
“The accused rolled down his window and shouted at the complainer, who was side-by-side with his lorry: ‘What the f*** are you doing?'”
Pindel, 41, who was aided in the dock by a Polish interpreter, was initially charged with driving dangerously, failing to maintain control of his truck, failing to leave a sufficient distance between himself and the cyclist, swerving left and right and braking harshly, causing the cyclist to take evasive action.
However, his heaving amended plea of guilty to simply shouting and swearing was accepted instead.
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson admonished first offender Pindel and said: “The fact that you have a conviction is sufficient.”
Baby murder bid
A Dunfermline babysitter was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after attempting to murder a five-month-old, then blaming the child’s mother for the attack. Kimberly Dow inflicted life-threatening injuries on the defenceless little boy by shaking him violently.
Peed, then punched
A chef battered a teenager who spotted him urinating at a row of parked cars.
Andrew Melville left the youth, who cannot be named, with a black eye after repeatedly punching him in Anstruther.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told how Melville was seen at around 1am to be urinating near cars, prompting the teen to say “watch you don’t get that on a car”.
Prosecutor Sarah High said: “There was a bit of an argument between the pair and the accused then punched the complainer repeatedly on the head and body.
“The complainer held out his hands to protect himself.
“The accused then kneed him to the head. Other witnesses then pulled the accused off the complainer and police were contacted.”
Ms High said the teen suffered scrapes and abrasions to the arm, a black eye and bruising to the head.
Melville, of Shore Street, pled guilty to the May 12 2024 assault on High Street East.
Solicitor Angela McLardy said Melville, 36, a chef at The Inn at Kingsbarns, was “completely embarrassed” by his actions.
She said the 36-year-old had been struggling to cope with a break-up at the time and had stopped taking his anti-depressant medication.
Ms McLardy said: “He does appear today as genuinely remorseful and embarrassed.
“He did bump into the complainer following that and apologised to him. There’s no hard feelings.”
Sheriff Garry Sutherland issued Melville a warning after ordering him to pay £500 in compensation to his victim.
“I appreciate you hard your difficulties at the time but you certainly can’t behave like this injuring a young man who was trying to stop you doing something stupid in the first place,” the sheriff told Melville.
“You’ve been dealt with relatively leniently today but that won’t be the case if you appear before another sheriff again.”
Pensioner conned
A former Dundee banker who conned a vulnerable customer with dementia out of almost £18,000 has been jailed. Stephen Barr admitted deliberately targeting the 81-year-old, who has since died, in a desperate effort to clear his own debts.
‘Overzealous’
First offender, James Harper must complete unpaid work after admitting an “overzealous” assault on a five-year-old boy in Dundee on April 15 this year.
Harper, 40, of Craigie near Kilmarnock, previously admitted seizing the boy by the body and pushing him across a room, causing him to strike his head off a door frame, injuring him.
Sentencing had been deferred for reports.
Labelling Harper’s actions as “overzealous,” defence solicitor Mark Robbins said he is “truly remorseful”.
“It was a compulsive action, it has serious consequences”
“There was a lot going on in his life at that present time.”
Sheriff Gregor Murray said: “You immediately expressed remorse after this happened.
“You have in the intervening period fully co-operated with social work.”
He imposed a year of supervision and 120 hours unpaid work as a direct alternative to imprisonment.
Bonnet terror
A man feared he would die as he clung to the bonnet of a car for hundreds of metres in Dundee after its driver sped away. He was left with multiple injuries after eventually being thrown onto the middle of the road by 50-year-old Karen Hayter.
Dropped knife in police van
A serial criminal who dropped a knife in the back of a police van en route to custody has been jailed.
Police became suspicious when Jamie McGreath began rummaging in his combat trousers after he was picked up outside the Sandeman bar in Perth city centre due to an unrelated matter.
The 35-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted having a bladed weapon in public on April 11 last year.
Fiscal depute Emma Farmer said: “A black-handled lock knife fell from his waistband and onto the floor of the van.
“It is described as having a locking mechanism with a blade inch of approximately three inches.”
McGrath is already serving a jail term, with a release date in March next year.
His lawyer said: “Someone had threatened him and he doesn’t trust the police.”
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC told McGrath: “Your record… includes numerous violent offences and offences involving weapons, including a baseball bat and a knife.”
McGrath, of Strathtay Road, Perth, was jailed for a year.
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