Court / Court round-up 22 December 2022

A MAN who admitted assaulting another man by striking him on the head with a knife to his injury and then brandishing another knife at police officers will learn his fate early in the new year.

John Wright, 25, of Observatory, Lerwick, admitted the offences at or near separate addresses in the town’s Sandveien on 20 May this year.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Wright had been at a children’s playpark and had approached the man saying “I want to speak”. The complainer walked away but his partner noticed Wright was attempting to conceal a knife behind his back.

After the complainer entered the garden of a nearby property, Wright followed him and then produced the knife, with a six-inch blade, and slashed at him. The incident came to a halt after the complainer punched him twice and then pulled his jumper over his head, after which Wright departed.

While the complainer managed to avoid the majority of the blows and only sustained “superficial scratches”, that was down to good fortune rather than “good management from the accused”, the fiscal said.

When police later traced Wright to another Sandveien property they saw him running towards the back door of the property before he brandished another knife, this time with a four-inch blade, at the officers.

Following “a moment’s hesitation” he dropped the knife and was restrained.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank deferred sentence until 19 January for a criminal justice social work report and granted forfeiture of the two knives.

A TWENTY four year old man has admitted defrauding his former partner’s mum of £760 after offering to do her grocery shopping in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that Kenneth Bryant, of Leaside, Mossbank, had been entrusted with the woman’s debit card to do her shopping and across 53 separate transactions obtained the money as cashback.

He used the card at the Cooperative supermarket at Lerwick’s Holmsgarth Road between 30 January and 5 August 2020 to fraudulently withdraw the money.

Bryant also admitted stealing unquantified amounts of money and cigarettes from the woman at her address in Lerwick between 1 June and 3 August last year.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told the court the woman was required to shield at the start of the pandemic, and he offered to do the shopping.

Once she discovered what he was doing the woman barred him from the house, though she initially did not report him as she hoped he would reimburse her.

When she did report him in August he made a full admission. Defence agent Tommy Allan said it was “always his intention” to pay her back and, now that he has found work, he is in a position to do so.

He said it was in Bryant’s interests to patch things up in the hope of resuming contact with his former partner and their child.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said that while the court did not have the power to compel them to do so, he felt it was a case where the space2face restorative justice project could be “invaluable” in mending matters.

He deferred sentence until 13 April for Bryant to be of good behaviour and to give him the chance to voluntarily start paying the money back, and to give each party the opportunity to take part in restorative justice “if they so wish”.

A TWENTY one year old woman who admitted threatening her former partner and telling him that she possessed an intimate photo or video of him will be sentenced early next year.

Caitlin Hay pleaded guilty to sending messages and images on social media to the man and to others that were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character from an address at Lerwick’s Nordavatn on 4 December this year.

She admitted being abusive and threatening towards him and the offence was aggravated by involving abuse of her ex-partner.

Sheriff Cruickshank told Hay that, while he had not heard a full narration or mitigating relating to the incident, he was “rather concerned about your behaviour” and deferred sentence until 2 February.

A MAN who admitted driving while four times the drink driving limit has been ordered to appear in person at Lerwick Sheriff Court for sentencing.

Fifty eight year old Hylton Henry, of Kulster, Aith, pleaded guilty by letter to driving on the A970 road 100 yards from the Tingwall Airport junction with 209 milligrammes of alcohol in 100ml of blood on 8 March this year. The legal limit is 50 milligrammes.

Sheriff Cruickshank deferred sentence for a criminal justice social work report to be prepared and ordered Henry to appear in person on 19 January.