A 61-year-old man who had been accused of scratching over 40 cars in the Baxter Park area of Dundee has had the case against him dropped.
John Fearn said he had endured ”months of worry” ahead of the Crown’s decision on Thursday not to proceed with the case due to a lack of evidence.
Mr Fearn, a landscape gardener, said he had faced abuse in the street and was even refused service in a pub after being charged with the offences in February last year.
”Some nights I couldn’t sleep it’s been months of worry. I had people calling me a car scratcher and I had to start drinking in other areas because of it,” he said.
”I’ve worked for 40 years and I’ve never been in trouble in my life.”
Mr Fearn was arrested after being spotted on CCTV footage walking on Albert Street and Park Avenue on his way home to Linlathen after a night out. He was accused of scratching 40 cars in eight streets between February 19 and February 20.
He said: ”The police said it looked very much like I had scratched one car. They then decided to charge me with the lot of them.
”The footage showed me walking home. I don’t walk straight with a drink in me. I was staggering a wee bit and that was it.”
While pleased the case was dropped, he is angry at being charged in the first place.
”Any car that got scratched after that, people asked if I did it. My family were hassled because of it, too,” he continued.
His solicitor Scott Norrie said it was ”unfathomable” why the case had taken almost a year to resolve.
He said: ”The evidence was nowhere near the level it should have been to bring it to this position. He was on the phone to me once or twice a week and was very nervous and concerned.”
A Crown Office spokesman said: ”The procurator fiscal at Dundee received a report concerning John Fearn in connection with incidents in Dundee between February 19 and February 20 2011. Subsequently, summary proceedings were raised against him charging him with malicious mischief.
“It is the duty of the procurator fiscal to keep cases under review and, after full and careful consideration of the available evidence, including CCTV footage, the procurator fiscal decided there was insufficient evidence to progress to trial. The case is now closed.”