A convicted firebug threatened to torch a woman’s house and her relative’s car.
Samuel Craig, 31, then pulled out a dog chain and exposed his bottom during the afternoon outburst in Law Road, Dunfermline, on August 29 last year.
Earlier this year, Craig was jailed for 31 months for starting a blaze in a block of flats in the same road in January 2022.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court, prosecutor Catherine Stevenson said it was around 1.30pm when a woman saw Craig and his then-girlfriend leaving a block of flats in Law Road.
She “muttered” something to Craig’s partner, who challenged her.
Craig asked his girlfriend if “that fat cow” said something to her and approached aggressively to say: “You are a fat b****rd, go and f***ing die”.
He leaned on the woman’s relative’s car, took a photograph of the registration plate and stated: “I am going to torch your car.
“I know the reg and your f***ing house is getting it as well.”
The fiscal depute said he pulled a dog chain from his trousers and began swinging it at the witnesses, before shouting abuse at other members of the public.
Craig then walked away and shouted “a**hole” towards the woman before “pulling down his trousers and baring his buttocks towards the witness”, the fiscal added.
Craig, formerly of Denfield Avenue, Cardenden, told police he was just defending his partner.
He pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, brandishing a dog chain, challenging people to a fight, and exposing his buttocks.
Defence lawyer Alexander Flett said Craig’s then partner had been “having issues for some time” with another family who lived nearby, including the complainer.
He was sentenced to two months in prison, to run consecutively to his current sentence.
Dock cacklers
A pair of Perth women were reprimanded by a sheriff for “cackling” in the dock while details of their bid to intimidate a man into changing trial evidence, including with a false rape allegation, were revealed. Denise Mulvilhill, 23, and Sarah Stewart, 27, both appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to admit attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Bare buttocks
A teenager from the Ballingry area pulled down his trousers and exposed his buttocks and anus in front of police officers.
The boy, who is 17 and can not be identified, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to the public indecency offence at Halbeath Road, Dunfermline, on December 18 last year.
Prosecutor Isma Mukhtar told the court: “Around 4.15am on the date libelled, police officers were on routine mobile patrol when they observed the offender standing in the middle of a footpath with his trousers down to his knees with his hands parting his buttocks, exposing his anus”.
Police got out of their vehicle and asked him why he was acting in this way – there was no-one else nearby – and the boy said he did not know and advised he had autism, the fiscal added.
Ms Mukhtar said the Crown accepts there was no significant sexual element to the charge.
The boy’s defence lawyer said his friend had told him “why don’t you go and do this” so he “went out wandering about in the early hours” and did it.
Sheriff Kirsta Johnston told the boy: “This is bizarre… antisocial… offensive behaviour.
“If you continued to behave in this fashion the court will eventually have to take stringent measures against you”.
She deferred sentencing for six months for the boy to be of good behaviour.
3D printed gun
A Perthshire man using a 3D printer Christmas present was just three steps from completing a deadly gun containing parts of an AR-15 rifle. James Maris, 19, used the printer to manufacture parts of a firearm called the, otherwise known as the F**k Gun Control 9.
Reset Jaguar
A man has been convicted of reset after taking a stolen Jaguar for a test drive in Angus.
Ross MacPhail stood trial at Forfar Sheriff Court accused of the offence on the A90 near Forfar on December 3 last year.
MacPhail, of Walker Road in Aberdeen, picked up the Jag, which had been stolen from a property in Glasgow’s Hyndland area, and told police he was testing it out.
He had collected the car in Forfar from a prospective seller known as “Bongo.”
The car had a temporary key and no V5 form and MacPhail had left another vehicle as a form of deposit while he took the car for a test.
MacPhail, 34, denied reset – knowingly being in possession of stolen goods – stating he had not agreed to buy the car yet at the time police stopped him.
However, Sheriff Derek Reekie convicted MacPhail of the offence, and of driving without insurance.
The sheriff ordered background reports and deferred sentencing until December 5.
Two years ago, MacPhail hit headlines after swinging on the £50,000 chandelier at Dundee’s Sleeperz hotel.
Grope priest
A priest who groped a sleeping train passenger in front of young families told railway staff “I was affirming him”. Father Daniel Doherty was seen repeatedly kissing the much younger man, who later reported the 61-year old had placed his hands inside his trousers. He admitted three counts of sexual assault.
Broken elbow
A Dundee man left an old college friend with a broken elbow after turning violent over a £500 debt.
Finley Larnyoh appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to admit an assault which left the man needing metal pins fitted.
Fiscal depute Callum Gordon explained Larnyoh had been due £500 from his old college friend of seven years and while the money had been gathered, it was then stolen, though this wasn’t reported to police.
On February 1 last year, Larnyoh attended at his victim’s Ancrum Court flat and kicked the front door, causing the chain to break.
He repeatedly punched and kicked the man and kicked his elbow as he was trying to get back up.
He also removed the man’s glasses and banged his head off a concrete floor three times, told him “I’ll be in touch” and left.
First offender Larnyoh, 25, of West Bell Street in Dundee, admitted assault to severe injury and will be sentenced on December 3.
Price list paedo pensioner
A paedophile pensioner from Kirkcaldy caught with indecent images, a price list and an instruction manual on how to download child abuse material has been placed on curfew. Graham Dickie, 67, was found with 100,000 images and a video collection with a run-time of more than two-and-a-half days.
‘In a hurry’
A motorist who tailgated an unmarked police car on the A92 near Kirkcaldy was told by a sheriff “sounds like you were in a hurry”.
Gary Graeme had also attempted to tailgate members of the public.
Fiscal depute Eve McKaig said, at 12.14pm on March 16 2024 the officers were on mobile patrol on the A92 between the Redhouse and Bankhead roundabouts, driving at the speed limit.
As they overtook another vehicle, Graeme’s red Audi approached from behind, drove close, then moved to undertake.
Later, he drove close behind a Seat Ibiza, overtook, then pulled in front and braked, before speeding off at 70mph in the 60mph limit zone.
Solicitor Danielle Stringer, defending, said: “He accepts his driving fell below the standard of a careful driver.
“It’s caused due to him having poor judgement on that date.”
Graham, of Sauchie Street, Kinglassie, admitted driving carelessly.
Sheriff Neil Kinnear told him: “It sounds like you were in a hurry.
“It can be frustrating when caught in traffic, but it’s unfortunate – one has to be patient.
“The rules are there for a reason.”
He fined Graeme £400 and handed him four penalty points on his licence.
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