Latest news with #PerthSheriffCourt
BBC News
5 days ago
- BBC News
Two charged over death of man on road near Dunning
Two men have been charged in connection with the death of a man in 29-year-old was found dead on the route between the village of Dunning and Kinross at about 07:00 on men, aged 36 and 42, were arrested and charged in connection with the death and are due to appear at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday.A 40-year-old woman was also arrested and later released pending further investigation.
The Courier
13-06-2025
- The Courier
Friday court round-up — 16 times coke limit and Legion assault
A drug-driver who switched seats with his passenger when he was pulled over by police in Perth has admitted a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. was 16 times the permitted limit for cocaine while motoring through the city's Fairfield Avenue on March 21 2023. The 38-year-old, from Aberfeldy, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and pled guilty to driving a Honda Jazz while uninsured and with excess cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine (800mics/ 50). He further admitted changing from being in the driver's seat to the passenger seat, while pretending to two police constables that he had not been behind the wheel. Sheriff William Gilchrist deferred sentence for a drug treatment assessment. A decorator battered a dog walker with a paint roller and left him 'gushing with blood' on the street, a court has heard. whacked his victim with the telescopic tool in a busy Auchterarder street and told police it was because stones had been thrown at his van. A pair have been ordered to complete unpaid work after assaulting a woman at Forfar's Royal British Legion. , 32, and , 33, previously admitted amended charges relating to the incident on October 28 2023. Beattie, of Graham Crescent in Forfar, pled guilty to assaulting the woman by repeatedly punching her on the head and body, leaving her injured and permanently disfigured. Scott, of Auldbar Road in Letham, admitted assaulting the woman by repeatedly seizing her by the hair to her injury. The pair returned to Forfar Sheriff Court last week to be sentenced. Beattie was instructed to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, while Scott was ordered to complete 80 hours unpaid work. A drink-driver and his teenage passenger suffered serious injuries when their airborne car slammed into a tree on a remote Perthshire road. lost control of his Vauxhall Corsa when he attempted to overtake on a bend, into the path of oncoming traffic. , 51, badly injured a customer by throwing a glass during a Cowdenbeath bar disturbance. Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard Heenan became angry when somebody pulled away his seat, causing him to fall to the ground at the Beath Inn, High Street. He hurled his pint glass towards the pool table, striking an innocent onlooker. Heenan, of Church Street, Kingseat, admitted that on February 11 last year, he assaulted a man by throwing a glass at him, which struck him on the head to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement. Paramedics treated the victim for a two-to-three inch cut on his eyebrow. His other injuries included a fractured upper sinus, concussion, blurred vision and a two-to-three inch cut on his eyebrow which required ten stitches and caused permanent scarring. Defence solicitor Elaine Buist said: 'He feels absolutely dreadful about the injuries 'He deeply regrets the whole incident having occurred.' Sheriff Krista Johnston told Heenan, 'You're lucky not to get the jail for this offence.' Instead, she imposed a community payback order with 120 hours of unpaid work, two years of supervision and a seven-month restriction of liberty order. A holidaymaker was knocked to the ground, beaten and robbed as he walked back to his caravan while visiting a Perthshire town. The tourist was set upon by in a seemingly unprovoked attack after enjoying an evening of football in Pitlochry. A Dunfermline man's careless driving outside Dunfermline police station caught the attention of officers. was stopped, smelling of booze, said he was 'in a hurry' and refused a breath test. As a result, the 51-year-old, of Headwell Avenue, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to admit that on December 29 at Holyrood Place, he drove a car carelessly and refused to provide specimens of breath. Depute fiscal Matthew Knapp said at 8.20pm officers were leaving the station when saw Todd driving past at excessive speed, then going straight over a mini-roundabout. He went on to Townhill Road and overtook a car which was turning right, almost causing a collision. Blue lights were activated and Todd pulled over. When officers spoke to him, he was smelling of alcohol and said, 'I'm sorry. I know it was unacceptable but I'm in a hurry.' Defence solicitor Brian Black said his client 'had a panic attack' and now feels 'ashamed and embarrassed' about his actions. Sheriff Krista Johnston banned Todd from driving for a year and fined him £540.
The Courier
12-06-2025
- The Courier
Fife drink-driver injured teenage passenger in airborne smash on Perthshire road
A drink-driver and his teenage passenger suffered serious injuries when their airborne car slammed into a tree on a remote Perthshire road. Brendon Nicol lost control of his Vauxhall Corsa when he attempted to overtake on a bend, into the path of oncoming traffic. Perth Sheriff Court heard how a witness 'braced herself' for a collision when she saw the 28-year-old's vehicle coming towards her on the wrong side of the road. She next saw it 'fly through the air' before colliding with a tree. Nicol, from Oakley, pled guilty to a charge of causing serious injury to his 19-year-old passenger by careless driving on the B846 near Dull, Aberfeldy, on June 7 2023. He also admitted being one-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit. Prosecutor Sarah Wilkinson said at the time of the crash, the weather was fair and the road was dry. Moments before the crash, a motorist and a cyclist were heading west along the B846 at about 11.45am, she said. 'A short time after overtaking the cyclist, the driver began to negotiate a left hand bend. 'At this time, she saw the accused's vehicle on her side of the road. 'It was overtaking an unidentified black vehicle. 'She braced herself for impact, which did not come.' The fiscal depute said: 'She then observed the subject vehicle flying through the air and then colliding with a tree.' Emergency services were scrambled to the scene. 'As a result of the collision, the accused landed on top of the complainer,' said Ms Wilkinson. By the time paramedics arrived, both men had managed to get out of the vehicle. Nicol was rushed to hospital by air ambulance, while his passenger went by road. 'The accused complied with police procedures and provided a positive specimen of breath,' the fiscal depute said. 'Pre-admission blood samples were taken by medics, nearly three hours after the collision. 'These were analysed by police and showed that the accused was 1.46 times the limit when he was driving.' The reading was 73 mics of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. The legal limit is 50 mics. The court heard the passenger suffered a broken wrist, which required emergency surgery. Whilst in hospital, the teenager told police he had been drinking vodka the night before and on the morning of the crash. It is understood he and Nicol had been drinking together. 'The accused also suffered serious injuries,' said Ms Wilkinson. Sheriff Alison McKay deferred sentence for background reports and disqualified Nicol from driving in the interim. She told him: 'I note that as a result of this incident you and your friend were injured. 'And I'm sure that it has been explained to you by your solicitor that this is a serious matter. 'The careless driving charge is aggravated by the fact you were under the influence of alcohol while you were driving. 'And in those circumstances, I am not prepared to deal with this matter today.'
The Courier
10-06-2025
- The Courier
Senior SSE manager banned for drunken crash in Perth woman's front garden
A senior manager at power firm SSE has been banned from driving for two years after he drunkenly careered his car into a Perth woman's garden. Peter McKessick was five times the limit when he ploughed his Land Rover Discovery through a hedge in the city's Ettrick Drive. The 54-year-old, who is head of development at the Perth-based energy company, was said to have been drinking excessively the day before, celebrating the end of the football season. He got behind the wheel the following evening, after drinking one more pint, to deliver a vital document to his workplace, his lawyer told Perth Sheriff Court. Sheriff Clair McLachlan told him: 'I'm not sure I entirely accept the explanation given.' McKessick, of Perth, pled guilty to driving with excess alcohol (249mg/ 50) on May 20 last year. Prosecutors accepted his not guilty plea to an allegation of careless driving. Fiscal depute Michael Robertson said: 'At 9pm, a witness was at the rear of her property in Ettrick Drive. 'She heard a loud bang coming from the front of the house.' The woman raced to her front door, where she saw McKessick's car in her garden. 'She observed a male within the vehicle,' Mr Robertson said. 'She could detect and smell alcohol coming from him.' Emergency services were called and McKessick was arrested after failing a roadside breath test. He was taken to Ninewells Hospital, where his blood was taken by doctors and later analysed by police. 'The accused was kept in hospital overnight for observations,' the fiscal depute said. Solicitor William McKay, defending, said: 'Mr McKessick was incredulous at the reading. Obviously, it's a very high one.' He said his client had been drinking at a social event 'around a football match' on May 19. 'He was drinking beer and vodka from 1pm to 2am,' Mr McKay said. The next day, he drink one pint of beer. Mr McKay said: 'At about 9pm, he remembered he wasn't going into the office the next day but he had a document that he required to take to his office.' McKessick got in his car and crashed after travelling a short distance. The solicitor could not explain why the blood-alcohol reading was so high. 'Maybe he has a slow absorption level. He doesn't have a drink problem but he was drinking an awful lot on that particular day.' Mr McKay, who said his client had a 'high-flying' position at SSE, had been driving without incident every day since the crash. Sheriff Clair McLachlan told McKessick: 'This was a worryingly high reading and I'm not sure I entirely accept the explanation given but it does seem to be out of character for you.' McKessick was banned from driving for 24 months and fined £1,000. He was told he can reduce his ban time to 18 months by completing a drink-drive rehabilitation course.
The Courier
09-06-2025
- The Courier
Engineer tells court he was treated as Perth fire tragedy hotel murder suspect
A security engineer who clambered into a fire tragedy Perth hotel to reclaim his CCTV cameras told a court how he was treated by police as a murder suspect. Jamie Grierson entered the New County Hotel through an upstairs window just weeks after the horrific blaze in January 2023 that claimed the lives of three people. The 37-year-old said he went into the building to take back 15 camera units after a row with the hotel owner who, he claimed, was refusing to pay for them. Mr Grierson was accused of breaking into the hotel and stealing the cameras. He wept as he told Perth Sheriff Court how he was taken in for questioning after police raided his girlfriend's home. 'They pretty much charged me with three counts of murder,' he said. The Courier understands Mr Grierson was never charged with murder but he was questioned as a suspect before he gave police his explanation for being inside the building. After a trial that has rumbled on for nearly a year, Mr Grierson was found not guilty of breaking into the New County Hotel and stealing the cameras. The trial has exposed the squalid and dangerous condition of the County Hotel in the weeks leading up to the tragedy. Fire swept through the building in the early hours of January 2 2023, claiming the lives of sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburg, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, from Aberdeen, and Edinburgh man Keith Russell, 38. Donna's dog Joey also died. The court heard Mr Grierson had repeatedly warned the hotel's owner about the state of the 23-bedroom venue. On the sixth and final day of his trial, Mr Grierson said he had agreed to install cameras for the hotel's owner, who he knew only as Omar. But he said he halted work after getting an unusual request. 'He (Omar) had requested Ring doorbell cameras on some of the rooms. 'I'm not prepared to do something that is clearly not right. 'It was the most bizarre thing I had ever heard.' Mr Grierson said he was involved in a 'heated' discussion with Omar about payment for the 15 cameras. The owner told him 'do what you want', which Mr Grierson believed was permission to retrieve the devices. He also said he later received a text from Omar or someone else connected to the hotel, telling him: 'Go ahead and get your stuff.' Mr Grierson went to the hotel on the day after the fire and explained his predicament to police standing guard outside. 'They told me it was a civil matter, they basically shrugged it off.' Mr Grierson got a ladder to remove one external CCTV unit, which he said was witnessed by officers. He came back in the small hours of February 15 and used a longer ladder to climb through a back window on an upper floor. Inside he uninstalled the remaining cameras, some he said were fire damaged. He told his solicitor Linda Clark he did not touch any other valuables inside, including laptops, computers and a stocked bar. 'The police raided my girlfriend's home,' he said. 'They came through the door and pretty much charged me with three counts of murder.' Sheriff Clair McLachlan told Mr Grierson: 'You accepted that your actions were ill-advised. 'But that does not mean to say they crossed the line into criminality. 'I believe you thought you had the genuine consent of the hotel owner. 'And I note these cameras were the only items that you recovered.' She found him not guilty, saying it was difficult to pinpoint any 'nefarious purposes' he may have had. 'Sorry for wasting anyone's time,' he said as he left the court. Witness Lia Payne, 48, who had been in a relationship with Grierson at the time, earlier told the trial: 'He was telling me about all the problems there. 'He showed me photos of rats. It was a hell hole.' She spoke of piles of black bags in the kitchen, as well as drug addicts and sex workers coming in through a back door. When interviewed by police about the alleged thefts, Mr Grierson said he was forced to halt work at the building due to its hazardous state. 'We were in rooms downstairs and it became apparent they weren't the most hygienic. 'There were rooms full of rubbish bags, there was junk everywhere. 'You couldn't walk anywhere without breathing in flies.' There had been 'electrical cables hanging loose everywhere,' Grierson said. 'I explained to the owner that due to the state of the hotel, we couldn't do any more work until it was cleaned and rectified.' He downed tools after fitting eight cameras. Grierson said he spoke to a member of staff about tidying up the building. 'I genuinely think the guy was drunk, I could smell alcohol on him.' He described a female employee as a 'user or a junkie, if you like.' 'She had people coming back and forth at night,' he said. Hotel owner Rashid Hussain died just months after the fire, in August 2023. His company Perth Hospitality Ltd went into liquidation over an unpaid energy bill. Emergency services say a joint probe into the blaze is still ongoing.
