Court round-up 10 April

A FORMER soldier from Aberdeen with an alcohol problem has been fined £800 for behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at the NorthLink ferry terminal in Lerwick last year.

John MacCabe, of Provost Rust Drive, was refused access to the southbound ferry on 19 November because of being drunk.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday the 41-year old caused considerable alarm among NorthLink staff and people who were intending to board the ferry who had to put up with his behaviour.

Police were called and, when this did not result in a change of his behaviour, he was eventually arrested.

Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said his client had been off alcohol for some time but had landed a job at the SaxaVord Space Centre, and said the social life in Unst – which he described as “lively” – resulted in MacCabe relapsing.

MacCabe pleaded guilty by letter, and the court also heard that he has been banned from travelling on NorthLink’s ferries.

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A LERWICK man has been put on the sex offenders register after sexually assaulting a young woman during Lerwick Up Helly Aa night.

Gareth Geddes admitted grabbing the complainer’s buttocks in the early hours of 29 January.

Geddes, of the town’s Stocketgaet, was attending festivities at Mareel which he visited as part of an Up Helly Aa squad.

The court heard the woman turned around and told 44-year-old Geddes not to touch her.

She later sought assistance from the Compass Centre and the incident was eventually reported to police.

Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said his client apologises for his behaviour and told the court that it had not been his intention to cause upset.

He said the consequences have been devastating for him and his family.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank asked for a criminal justice social work report and deferred sentence until 4 June.

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Geddes has in the interim been made subject to sex offenders notification requirements.

A YOUNG sales advisor from Lerwick lost his driving licence after being stopped by police on Scalloway Road due to the manner of his driving.

At Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Brandon Johnson, of North Lochside, pleaded guilty to having twice the legal limit for alcohol in his urine on 29 September last year.

He was found to have 144 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of urine, with the legal limit being 67.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank fined 23-year-old Johnson £650 and disqualified him from driving for a period of one year.

Johnson can reduce the length of disqualification by one quarter should he successfully complete the drinker driver’s rehabilitation course.