A Fife teen who wielded an imitation gun and pulled out a “Rambo-style” machete in the street, says he is “happy” to be paying back the community.
The 17-year-old boy, who is too young to be named, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court for a community payback order (CPO) review after being handed 200 hours of unpaid work and two years of offender supervision in July this year.
He previously pled guilty to two assaults involving the imitation firearm, behaving in a threatening manner, and carrying a machete without lawful authority.
The offending happened at various locations in Dunfermline and spanned a period between May 25 and August 17 last year, when he was aged 16.
Firearms offences
The court heard previously the boy, from Dunfermline, had his face covered by a scarf when he pointed and shot an imitation handgun five times at two people in their front garden in Inchkeith Drive, at around 10pm on May 25 last year.
He had asked them “what the f**k are you looking at?” before pulling out the weapon.
The terrified witnesses ran into the house and phoned police as the boy ran off.
Six days later, he told a woman in a communal hallway in a block of flats he was “not going to shoot” her, causing her to flee to her car and drive to the police station.
Less than two hours later on Linburn Road, the boy followed a man, lifted the gun and told him “I’m going to shoot you”.
On this occasion, the witness was not overly concerned, telling the boy “it’s a plastic gun”.
From about 6ft away, he pointed the firearm at the man’s head and pulled the trigger four or five times, causing the gun cylinder to click.
The man called 999 and police traced the boy at around 3am in Turnstone Road.
An officer found the “revolver-style gun” lying under a street sign.
Firearms officers confirmed it was a blank-firing pistol, rounds for which were found in the boy’s bedroom.
Rambo knife
The court heard that on August 17 last year, the boy pulled a machete – described as a “Rambo-style knife” – from his jogging bottoms in front of a man doing gardening at a house in Tweed Street.
He began shouting “like he was a gangster”.
Ring doorbell footage from the street showed there were young children being collected from school by parents in the area.
A short time later he was chased and caught by police, who saw him tossing the machete as he fled.
‘Grabbed the bull by the horns’
The boy appeared in court this week for a CPO review and another deferred sentence for breaching a bail curfew condition on February 5 this year.
Defence lawyer Shona Westwood said her client has “grabbed the bull by the horns with both hands”.
She said he just has two more shifts of unpaid work to do and said: “I think (the boy) should be commended for the effort to comply with the order”.
Sheriff Krista Johnston said: “From where I sit, it looks as if you have taken a grip of things and turned your young life around.”
He replied: “I am happy and want to pay back the community for what I did.”
He said he has been litter picking and “painting” at care homes and is looking at going to college.
The sheriff fixed a further CPO progress review for next year and the boy was admonished for the bail breach.
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