All the court you need on a Tuesday
Dog punch charge
A pet pamperer from Dundee will go on trial accused of punching one of his canine clients on the snout.
John Russell allegedly punched a French bulldog on its head multiple times.
The 67-year-old man is accused of attacking the dog, named Bronson, and causing it unnecessary suffering at an address on Dundee’s Kirkton Crescent on April 13 2020.
Russell, of Buttars Place, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
A trial date has been set for January 2022.
Dog groomer Russell moved into the pet care industry following an accident while working offshore.
The Charleston businessman operates from a van which was converted into a mobile dog grooming parlour.
Ear biter
A life prisoner has admitted biting a fellow inmate’s ear and repeatedly punching them.
Myles Simpson shouted “stop spreading s*** about me” before attacking Kenneth McGeechan on December 19 2019 in HMP Perth.
Simpson, 57, was made subject to an order for lifelong restriction in 2015 after repeatedly punching a woman in a Dundee homeless hostel two years earlier.
Prosecutor Lora Apostolova explained how Simspon and Mr McGeechan had been arguing in the prison work sheds before the incident.
She told Dundee Sheriff Court how Simpson launched an “unprovoked attack” by punching him once in the face causing his lip to swell.
Simpson then took Mr McGeechan to the corner and bit him on the left ear.
He was left with a 1.5cm wound with tissue loss as well as deformity to his ear lobe.
Simpson pled guilty to causing Mr McGeechan to suffer injury and permanent disfigurement.
Sheriff Gregor Murray jailed him for 15 months.
Tight handcuffs
A 34-year-old man was jailed after spitting at and threatening to kill police officers because his handcuffs were too tight.
Drunk Jason McDonald was arrested after becoming lost on his way back to his cousin’s home in Dundee on September 18.
After initially complying with officers, McDonald, from Dunfermline, suddenly became agitated and lashed out at officers inside the West Bell Street headquarters because his handcuffs were hurting him.
He shouted “I’ll break your nose” before spitting towards PC Gavin Cathro and saying “get that Covid in you.”
A spit hood was applied and the saliva went past the officer’s shoulder.
Serial offender McDonald, a prisoner of HMP Perth, also admitted trying to trip up PC Fraser Sturrock, repeatedly stamping on his foot and kicking him on the leg.
He also shouted, swore, made threats of violence and threatened to kill the officers.
Sheriff Gregor Murray jailed McDonald for 20 months.
Paedophile snared
Broughty Ferry man Duncan Jones has admitted sending explicit photographs to a dating account he thought belonged to a 13-year-old girl.
Jones, 35, of Fettercairn Drive, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court accused of attempting to communicate indecently with a child.
He sent messages to an fake account he believed belonged to 13-year-old Kelsey Smith between February 28 and March 13.
However, the account was in fact managed by a grown man.
Jones pled guilty to sending sexual written communication via an online dating app and engaging in sexual conversation, in that he sent indecent photographs to what he thought was a teenager.
The court heard when Jones was contacted by police in relation to his actions, he alleged his phone had been hacked.
However, he has admitted sending the messages intentionally for the purposes of sexual gratification or to humiliate, distress or abuse his victim.
Jones was released on bail pending sentence on May 20.
Also…
A Dundee rapist was sentenced to a decade behind bars for his attacks on a teenager and a woman.
