A thief made off with more than £2,200 worth of clothing and fragrances after targeting two Dundee shops.
Scott McMillan admitted stealing goods from Boots and TK Maxx to fund a heroin addiction.
He has been released from custody with the aim of turning his life around.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how McMillan first stole candles and fragrances worth £305 from Boots, High Street, on June 18 this year.
The rest of the thefts occurred from the Gallagher Retail Park TK Maxx store on July 18, 19 and 23, respectively.
McMillan, remanded at HMP Perth, stole clothing worth just over £1,900 over the three days. None of the items were recovered.
Solicitor Theo Finlay highlighted his client’s need for “urgent intervention”.
“This was all to fund his heroin addiction at the time.”
He said McMillan had been living with his parents at the time and could do so again if he addresses his difficulties.
Sheriff Eric Brown acceded to Mr Finlay’s request for McMillan to be placed on a high tariff structured deferred sentence until December.
McMillan was released on bail to the Lily Walker Centre on condition he engages with the directions of his supervising officer.
Onlyfans model assault
An OnlyFans model was sexually assaulted by Edward Statter, 55, at a Monifieth pub. He pulled down her top and then groped her as she left his table in disgust over his conduct.
Further sex offences
A convicted sex offender “stole” a woman’s childhood as he preyed on two underage girls.
David Brown, 82, subjected his victims to repeated abuse at addresses in Methil between 1998 and 2006, beginning when the victims were aged 13 and 12.
A judge told Brown at the High Court in Edinburgh his behaviour towards the youngest victim was “depraved and despicable”.
Lord Cubie said: “She was effectively groomed and practically enslaved by you. You stole her childhood, as she said.”
Brown had denied a series of charges during his trial but was found guilty of five offences – two of rape, two of indecent conduct and an indecent assault.
Brown is currently serving a seven-year prison term imposed for sex crimes in 2019 and Lord Cubie ordered the six-and-a-half year sentence he was imposing will run from its expiry.
Brown, who came into the dock with the aid of a wheelchair, was told he would be placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Social media stalker
A social media stalker who set up fake accounts to troll two former Perth College classmates with hateful messages and threats told police he simply wanted to “cause a drama for no reason”. Self-styled fashionista Valentino Murdoch, who claims to resemble Prince and Gianni Versace, told one victim “Your dog is getting shot.”
Assaulted security guard
A man who attacked a security guard at a Perth festival showground has been jailed.
Gordon McArthur, 41, was spotted acting suspiciously at the city’s North Inch, set up for the family Energy Festival, on the night of July 27.
Prosecutor Stephanie Paterson said that at about 10.50pm, the security guard was in a parked car, which allowed him to see over the festival site and noticed the accused and another person walking a dog close to equipment set out for the festival.
The guard approached McArthur as he walked towards a tent, where there were people sleeping.
McArthur became aggressive towards one of the campers and said his dog would bite them.
Ms Paterson said the security guard pointed his torch at McArthur, who shouted, “get that torch out of my face”, struck him twice and then left.
Police caught him later but while in custody, McArthur was heard shouting racist remarks to a female prisoner.
“If you’re not happy with the way our country’s run, go back to your own,” he ranted.
The court heard that in a separate incident on July 26 last year, McArthur abused staff at Poundstretcher, Scott Street, Perth.
He admitted charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, abusing retail workers, assault and shoplifting.
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said his client is now in a relationship and no longer takes drugs.
McArthur, of Dunsinane Drive, Perth, was jailed for 11 months.
Marvel predator
A predatory paedophile molested teenage girls at his Perth home after showing them Marvel movies and teaching them sex education. Ryan Kinnear forced himself on his three young victims, using a massage gun on one and preying on another while she slept.
Hammer hitter
A teenager followed and hit a stranger with a hammer after a “verbal altercation” in a Kirkcaldy street.
Dylan Barclay, 19, went after the other man and struck him on the upper back.
He had earlier launched a glass bottle at his victim.
Barclay appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link to detention to plead guilty to the assault to injury on June 16 last year at Kirkcaldy bus station and Wemyssfield.
Prosecutor Isma Mukhtar said the victim was sitting in the high street at around 7:30pm when he was approached by a group of youths, including his attacker.
A “verbal altercation” took place so the complainer tried to walk away and a glass bottle hit him on the back.
Mr McMillan said he would call the police but this did not deter the group and Barclay and another person followed him, the fiscal said.
“The accused then removed a hammer from the waistband of his trousers and hit the complainer once on his right shoulder, upper back area, causing injury to him.”
The complainer reported the matter at the police station and Barclay was found at the bus station, still with the hammer.
Ms Mukhtar said the victim suffered pain and swelling to the shoulder but did not require medical treatment.
Barclay’s defence lawyer said her client is, formerly of Shetland Place, Kirkcaldy, is currently serving a sentence with an earliest release date of March next year.
Sheriff James Williamson gave Barclay eight months detention, running concurrently to his existing term.
Dog decision
A dog which chased, bit and injured a nine-year-old girl in rural Perthshire has been shown mercy by a sheriff. Scott Geddes‘ German Shepherd Duke avoided destruction after Perth Sheriff Court was told there had been no further incidents since the incident two-and-a-half years ago.
Drink-drive shame
A 76-year-old woman who crashed her car while more than three times the drink drive limit (165mg/50) has been banned for a year.
Beryl Divers almost struck a pedestrian while drunkenly driving a Toyota Aygo on March 15 this year on Dundee’s Turnberry Avenue.
In a letter to Dundee Sheriff Court the pensioner admitted drink-driving and driving carelessly on the wrong side of the road, failing to navigate a bend and colliding with a car while trying to park.
She then accelerated harshly and struck the pavement, almost striking a pedestrian.
Divers, of Dalmahoy Drive, wrote: “I am extremely embarrassed, ashamed and truly remorseful.”
Solicitor Theo Finlay said: “It’s set against a period of emotional difficulty that she was enduring at the time.
“She is ashamed. The loss of her licence will cause her difficulties because she has mobility problems. The third parties have been compensated.”
The ban will be reduced if she completes the drink-drive rehabilitation scheme.
Propositioning pervert
Pervert John Pollock, 60, propositioned two schoolgirls in a Perthshire town and has been placed on the sex offenders register for a year.
At Perth Sheriff Court, he pled guilty to indecently communicating with the 15-year-olds “to obtain sexual gratification” or humiliate, distress or alarm them after asking them to perform a sex act on him at Bridgend, Aberfeldy, on April 19 last year.
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson placed Pollock, of Union Street, Perth, on supervision for 12 months, as a direct alternative to custody.
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