Sent to prison for brandishing a knife

A MAN has been sentenced to eight months in prison for brandishing a knife and possessing diazepam whilst celebrating his last night in Shetland.

Forty two year old Paul Macklin, of Moir Drive in Aberdeen, behaved “aggressively” at an address in Lerwick on 16 May while drunk, using a knife to “smash” a mobile phone.

After the alert was raised, police later found Macklin to be in possession of the class C drug diazepam.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that he was due to leave Shetland the next day and friends wanted to provide a “send-off” for him.

After visiting some pubs, Macklin and his friends attended the address in town, with a large quantity of spirits later turning the man’s behaviour sour.

The man brandished a knife before using it to damage a mobile phone. He also threw items.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said that his client had “no recollection” of the incident.

Sheriff Philip Mann concluded that Macklin was a “danger to the public – at least when under the influence” of drink.

He warned the man that “innocent bystanders could have been injured”, adding that the case was especially serious because it involved a knife.

Mann sent Macklin behind bars for eight months.