Court / Man who jumped on police car bonnet ordered to pay damages

A MAN who jumped on the bonnet of a police car and caused almost £2,000 in damages has been ordered to repay the costs to Police Scotland.

James Maloney, of Brae, left the court building on 22 October having been granted bail and went straight to the pub, leading to him later being charged with vandalising a police vehicle.

Maloney also admitted to breaching a bail order by “deliberately” positioning himself in the way of a person he had been told not approach or contact in the Welcome Inn, Mossbank, on 5 November.

Defence agent Tommy Allan tried to claim Maloney was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But, referencing Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said it seemed unlikely that “of all the bars in the world he just happened to walk into this one”.

The court heard police were called on 33-year old Maloney on 22 October when he refused to leave a property, but when police arrived Maloney jumped on their car bonnet – causing £1,812 in damages.

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Allan said he “can’t think of any reasonable excuse” as to why his client would do that, calling it “drunken stupidity”.

He said Maloney then sat on the bonnet and waited to be arrested.

Referencing the incident in the Welcome Inn, he said Maloney had only been in the pub for around 15 minutes and had left because of the person he was not supposed to contact.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the woman had been playing pool, but had stopped playing and sat with friends after Maloney positioned himself in her way.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank deferred sentence on the breach of bail for a trial date in March, which relates to the case.

He fined Maloney £100 for the vandalism incident, and ordered him to pay the full sum of £1,812 to the police service of Scotland.