An Arbroath thief caught with goods stolen from an 85-year-old woman’s sheltered housing demanded KFC staff phone him a taxi to take him home with tools he had stolen from B&Q.
James Pow, 34, appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to admit four charges.
The court heard Pow was caught on December 29 2022 on Westhaven Gardens, where he lives, in possession of a number of stolen items, including a safe, a mobile phone, money, two computer tablets and a glasses case.
The items had been stolen during a break-in at sheltered housing on December 28.
Pow admitted an amended charge of reset.
He also admitted stealing power tools from the Westway Retail Park B&Q in Arbroath on December 29.
He was caught on CCTV concealing a drill box and a screwdriver box worth £111 in total and leaving without trying to pay.
Pow then went to the nearby KFC with the stolen goods and demanded staff phone him a taxi.
He told one employee: “You’re a bitch, I’m going to come back and stab you,” and told another “I’ll stab you too.”
As well as admitting the shoplifting and threatening or abusive behaviour charges, Pow pled guilty to missing a court hearing on August 13 last year.
The court heard since first appearing in connection with the offences, Pow has amassed a further 35 convictions.
Sentencing was deferred until June 12 for him to be of good behaviour.
Pervert snared
A Perth sex offender snared in an online sting by vigilantes has been put on the sex offenders register until 2030. Pervert Peter Moffat returned to Perth Sheriff Court to be sentenced after admitting sending sordid messages to a paedophile hunter posing as a 13-year-old.
Covered all bases in pub rant
A kebab-wielding bigot racially abused door staff at Perth’s Twa Tams pub, then continued his foul-mouthed ranting at police when they arrested him.
Retail manager Neil Pickard was turned away from the popular Scott Street pub on February 22 this year after arriving at 10.40pm staggering, slurring his words and struggling to eat the kebab he was holding.
Perth Sheriff Court heard he became belligerent to door staff, spouting “P*ki c*nt,” “foreign b*****d” and “goat-herding f**k.”
He began pushing and shoving and tried to bite the employees, before lashing out with his legs when restrained on the ground.
Police arrived and while being arrested and in the back of the van, the 44-year-old ranted: “You are nothing, paedo”, “mongos”, “you are absolute paedos, f**k off”, “go f**k your mum”, “paedo c**t”, “f***ing weapons”.
He continued: “What are you going to do, Pikey f***ing minks”, “I will f***ing annihilate you”, “IRA b*****d”, “f***ing b*****d”, “you love the boaby you gay b*****d”, “he’s a rapist b*****d”, “he’s a lesbian” and “you’re a homosexual b*****d”.
He finally added: “Jail me, I don’t give a f***.”
Pickard, of Struan Road in Perth, admitted two charges of threatening or abusive behaviour.
His solicitor Bethany Downham said: “He did divulge that it had been quite a stressful time leading up to this event. It does appear to be an isolated incident.”
Sheriff David Hall ordered Pickard to complete 180 hours of unpaid work as a direct alternative to imprisonment.
He said: “Your behaviour on the night in question was quite disgraceful.”
Spider-Man mask
A Dundee man donned a Spider-Man mask to breach a court order and try to contact his ex-partner. Oktawiusz Burblis was chased by a dog after throwing stones at a Lochee property after knocking “aggressively” on the door.
Two hours hiding
An offshore worker ran off and hid in a field after crashing into another motorist deep in the Sidlaw hills.
Lemmy Milne, 27, spent nearly two hours hiding on December 16 before police with sniffer dogs found him.
Milne, of Dock Street in Dundee, returned to Forfar Sheriff Court to be sentenced for a string of offences he admitted.
On the C16 road between Newtyle and Glamis near Templeton Farm, he failed to stop and exchange details at the scene of the crash.
After being traced, he refused to give police breath samples and he possessing Class A drugs – a bag containing 2g of cocaine.
Prosecutor Kate Scarborough said the accident happened on a right hand bend.
“The accused’s vehicle essentially failed to turn the corner correctly and an impact occurred between the witness’ and the accused’s vehicles.
“There was damage suffered to both. They ended up off the road with airbags deployed.
“The complainer exited his vehicle in somewhat of a state of shock.
“As he approached the accused’s vehicle, he came to the realisation there was no-one in it and the driver’s door was wide open.”
Milne’s lawyer Julita Blazniak said: “The road’s very narrow, conditions were rather wintery and there was quite a bit of mud on the road.
“He simply panicked after the accident. In the spur of the moment, he decided to leave the scene.
“He was slightly injured. His tooth had come through his lip. He has shown remorse and regret.”
Milne was fined £1,000 altogether and disqualified from driving for a year.
Sick guessing game
A Fife man blindfolded an eight-year-old girl for a “tasting game” which turned into a sexual assault. James Ross got thew youngster to play a sick guessing game, during which took out his penis and told her it was a banana. He was found guilty after a trial.
Dead kittens
A Perth man who admitted allowing kittens to die of neglect in his flat had sentence deferred to asses whether his new home is suitable for a curfew.
Gary Campbell, 47, admitted two charges relating to the neglect and deaths of the two kittens – Peacock and Bertie – between January 19 and February 19 2024.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how the Scottish SPCA helpline received a report from Campbell’s former landlady on February 16, informing them she had found two dead kittens at the New Row property.
She described the living conditions as uninhabitable and explained Campbell had moved out.
A post-mortem examination was carried out and there was no evidence of trauma but the examiner reported the cats had likely died from either hunger or dehydration over
weeks or months.
Campbell told investigators he was in “a dark place” and when he saw Bertie’s corpse: “I couldn’t cope so I just shut the door. It sent me even deeper.
“I didn’t want Peacock running out the front door so I locked him in the bedroom.”
He said he was “devastated”.
Campbell’s solicitor Bethany Downham said her client was offered the kittens when a relationship broke up and he thought they would provide some comfort.
“One kitten passed away and he was unable to cope with this.
“That was why the second kitten passed away – he buried his head in the sand.”
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