News / TV night-in turned nasty
A NIGHT in drinking and watching TV in Shetland’s south mainland last month transformed into a violent struggle with the police that has landed one man in jail.
Two police officers went to a house in Midgarth, Cunningsburgh, on 16 January after neighbours complained they were fed up with the noise.
However when the police arrived at the door they were met with “extreme hostility” that turned into physical violence when they started to make arrests for failing to turn down the TV.
At Lerwick Sheriff Court on Thursday, procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie described it as a “serious incident” that left the officers in a “vulnerable and potentially dangerous situation”.
David McKinnon, aged 32, of, 26 Hoofields, Lerwick, pled guilty to repeatedly attempting to bite one off the officers as well as lashing out with his legs and struggling violently to avoid arrest.
His 37 year old friend Kelly Ross, of 33 Ladies Drive, Lerwick, admitted kicking one of the officers in the head as he was trying to arrest McKinnon, and lashing out and struggling violently to avoid arrest.
The court heard that both were unemployed recovering heroin addicts who had been drinking heavily that night, so much that Ross could barely remember what happened.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said McKinnon reacted badly to the way he was arrested because he was in pain due to the polio he had suffered from in his youth.
He said that McKinnon had been working hard to change his ways after building up a lengthy criminal record, that last saw him in jail in 2011.
“This is an unfortunate blip in a period when he was trying to get things back on track with himself,” Allan said.
Sheriff Philip Mann jailed McKinnon for four months, backdated to 16 January when he was taken into custody.
Sentence on Ross was deferred for background reports so that the sheriff could consider “all sentencing options”.
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