Court / Court round-up 2 July
A LERWICK man found growing cannabis in his home has had his sentence deferred for reports.
Police discovered 15 plants in varying stages of growth in 40-year-old Barry Dutton’s home in Bank Lane during a search on 4 February 2025.
They also found around 207g of dead leaves, with a potential street value of £1,200, Lerwick Sheriff Court heard.
Dutton admitted producing the class B drug at his home when he appeared from court on Wednesday.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said it was “impossible” to work out the value of the cannabis plants, as some were mature and others were not.
Mackenzie applied for forfeiture of all the items seized by police during the search, which was granted by the court.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank decided to defer sentencing on Dutton for the preparation of background reports.
A YOUNG man who damaged a car and caravan in Scalloway late last year has been ordered to pay costs towards their repairs.
Daniel Johnson, from Sullom, previously pleaded guilty to causing £400 of damage to a car and £2,575 of damage to the caravan on 21 October 2024 while out on bail.
The 21-year-old had used the passenger door of a car he was sitting in to cause damage to the bodywork of the car, before repeatedly punching the walls of another person’s caravan.
Johnson had already paid £1,200 towards the cost of repairs to the caravan, the court heard.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said Johnson was “extremely worried” that he would not be “leaving on the same road he came in” to court, and “rightly so”, he added.
However Sheriff Ian Cruickshank decided not to send Johnson to prison, instead ordering him to pay £400 in compensation to the owner of the car.
He was also ordered to pay another £600 to the owner of the caravan, and was placed under supervision for a year.
Johnson must repay the money in full within nine months.
A LERWICK man has been banned from driving for more than two years after getting behind the wheel while already disqualified and over a drug-driving limit.
Peter John Henderson, of Stout’s Court, had already admitted driving while banned and over the legal limit for clonazepam on 3 August last year.
Henderson, 43, had been stopped by police on the A971 road between Whiteness and the road to Veensgarth, Tingwall, when the offences came to light.
He was found to have 51 microgrammes of clonazepam per litre of blood, with the limit being 50 microgrammes.
However the court heard previously the tests were carried out some hours after the police were first alerted to Henderson’s driving.
Sentence had been deferred for the preparation of background reports, and defence agent Tommy Allan said the reports showed Henderson had been making some progress with regard to his drug use.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank placed Henderson under supervision for a period of 15 months and ordered him to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work within the next year.
He also banned him from driving for 27 months.
A NEIGHBOURLY dispute over a cat has led to a second person being sentenced at Lerwick Sheriff Court.
Graham Hare, of Weisdale, pleaded guilty to assaulting the other man by punching him on the head during the argument on 14 February this year.
Hare, 49, had carried out the assault while already out on bail.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the incident would be familiar to the court, as the complainer in this case had also already been charged and sentenced recently.
Mackenzie said the background was a dispute between neighbours about a cat, with Hare sent to the complainer’s house to retrieve the animal.
Words were exchanged at first, before the encounter became violent and Hare punched the man in the head.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank fined Hare £300.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
