A man has admitted drunkenly abusing an employee at Dundee Bus Station after he was unable to get into the toilets.
Robert Hamill, of Provost Wynd in Cupar, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court to admit acting in a threatening or abusive manner at the Seagate station on the afternoon of June 14 this year.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond said: “The witness stance conductor for CityLink at the locus.
“A passer-by noticed that the accused was within the locus, shouting and swearing.”
Hamill was heard to proclaim: “I need a f***ing p*ss” and repeatedly asking for the toilets to be opened.
It was explained the loos were out of service and he was asked to leave but he refused
and the bus company employee turned on their bodycam.
Hamill, 66, continued to shout and swear for a few minutes before leaving of his own accord.
Sentencing was deferred for reports.
Bonnet-cling terror
A Dundee grandmother has been jailed for 14 months after driving with a man clinging to her bonnet for more than a quarter of a mile. He tried to stop Karen Hayter fleeing an accident scene and said he thought he was going to die as she continued to speed up while he hung on for his life.
Violent abuser jailed
A violent sexual abuser who subjected a woman he referred to as a “sex doll” to 13 months of ill-treatment was jailed for four and a half years.
Christian Schonenberger, 22, was told he will have to serve a further 174 days of prison time from a previous sentence imposed for violence before he begins his latest sentence.
A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh also ordered he should be kept under supervision for a further three-year period when he will be on licence and can be returned to jail if he breaches its conditions.
Lord Doherty pointed out Schonenberger began offending against the woman victim in Dundee “almost immediately” after his early release from his last sentence.
He was also banned from having an animal for a decade after repeatedly punching, kicking and stamping on two dogs at a flat in the city and striking them with various objects, including pots and pans.
Schonenberger pursued an abusive course of behaviour towards a woman for more than a year between 2022 and 2023, including shouting and swearing at her and targeting her for derogatory comments such as calling her a “sex doll”.
He also repeatedly subjected her to sex acts without her consent and assaulted her with a knife and a metal pole, inflicting serious injury on her.
He repeatedly punched, kicked and throttled the woman and threw her into a common close.
Schonenberger forced her to drink alcohol, isolated her from family and friends, prevented her using social media to communicate with others, repeatedly demanded to know where she was and persistently phoned and sent text messages to her.
He also told her not to identify him at an identification parade and not to attend court.
He was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to the two dogs at a flat in Dundee in the same time period.
Defence solicitor advocate Kris Gilmartin told the court he has been considered “a role model for other young offenders” while in prison.
He said there was a background of drug and alcohol abuse, childhood trauma, ADHD and post traumatic stress disorder.
Schonenberger was placed on the sex offender’ register for an indefinite period and the judge made a non-harassment order prohibiting from contacting or attempting to contact the victim indefinitely.
Restaurateur predator
A Perthshire restaurateur forced himself on two teenage girls as they lay in their beds, telling one: “You can’t stop me now.” Thomas McPhee, 56, preyed on his young victims at properties in Auchterarder and Perth over a four-year period.
Torrents of racist abuse
A racist thief has been jailed for 28 months after admitting a string of offending, including towards consultants at Ninewells accident and emergency department.
HMP Perth inmate Ian Gray, 32, was brought to Dundee Sheriff Court to be sentenced after admitting that on April 3 this year, he stole 23 steaks from the Aldi store at The Stack leisure park – worth £88.57 – while he was on bail.
He also admitted spewing racist abuse at Iffy’s shop on Lochee High Street on May 6.
After being caught banging on the ATM outside, he stated to two people inside they were “mixed racers” and a member of staff “does not belong here”.
Gray also admitted, three days later, having been brought to the hospital after being discovered in a bush, acting in a threatening or abusive manner towards staff, making racially offensive remarks, refusing to leave and threatening a consultant with violence.
Gray stated it was a “Christian country” and asked a staff member “why are you trying to show off in front of all these birds?”
He admitted assaulting the consultant by throwing a cup of liquid at him, threatening him and making stabbing motions.
His threats included stating: “You’ll be in a pool of blood by the end of your shift.”
He also admitted assaulting a second consultant and a trio of offences at Constitution Street the following day – possessing an axe and a knife and attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving police a false name.
Taped confession
A rapist who took advantage of a drunk, sleeping student in a Dundee flat because he was “lonely” is facing a lengthy jail term. Ethan Campbell, 21, later provided a recorded confession, in which he said: “I committed the crime of rape – I raped her.”
Nocturnal house raids
Dundee thief Alan Rachwal has been jailed for a year and a half after admitting a trio of nocturnal house raids.
The drug addict, of Craigmore Street, was brought from prison to Forfar Sheriff Court where he admitted that on May 8 last year, he was caught in a property in Dalkeith Road at 4.10am after waking up the householder there.
He had a laptop, a bottle of wine and a bottle of washing-up liquid, which he dropped while running away.
Later that morning, a woman woke at her home in Ellengowan Grove and saw on her doorbell security system Rachwal using pliers to cut the door chain at 4.20am.
He left 10 minutes later with a laptop, a handbag and a purse, none of which were recovered.
Two days later, Rachwal targeted another city home at 4am, with the resident of the Wolseley Drive property waking to find three laptops, two mobile phones, a CD drive, an LED lamp, a jacket and a wallet had been stolen.
When Rachwal was arrested, all the items were recovered.
Solicitor Doug McConnell said: “Mr Rachwal is a man who’s been in and out of custody for years since he was 16.”
Jailing him for 18 months, Sheriff Paul Ralph said: “Mr Rachwal, these are pretty despicable crimes, as you’ll know yourself.”
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