Court / Court round-up 11 February

A MAN appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday to admit six charges including assaulting police officers.

Craig Nelson, 47, whose address was given as Grampian Prison, appeared from custody via video link and had his sentence deferred until next week to allow a written narration of the case to be provided by the fiscal.

The charges centre on the date of 9 October last year, and they include offences such as behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at an address in the Hoofields area of Lerwick.

Nelson also admitted other charges including assaulting police officers.

Sheriff Philip Mann said it was unlikely the sentence will be anything other than a custodial one, but deferred the matter until 18 February to allow for the preparation of a written narration.

ANOTHER case was deferred to next week for a written narration – although the accused said he did not want to wait any longer to be sentenced.

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Kyle Swannie, 29, whose address was given as Grampian Prison, appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday from custody via video link to plead guilty to four charges.

These included forcing his way into a property in Lerwick on 14 September last year with his face covered, uttering threats and demanding money, while he also admitted assaulting two people.

Sheriff Philip Mann decided to defer the case for a week to allow the fiscal to prepare a written narration of the case, but defence agent Tommy Allan said his client wanted matters dealt with straight away.

However, the sheriff highlighted that the case had been described as a “complex” one and told Swannie he had to be “fair to you, and the public interest”.

A MAN from Perth has had his sentence deferred for social work reports after admitting behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards his former partner.

David McArthur admitted shouting and swearing at the woman at an address in Dunrossness on 16 August last year, as well as calling her derogatory names and throwing foodstuffs.

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday that the 34-year-old had been drinking and became “argumentative and belligerent” towards her.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said there was “no excuse” for the behaviour and said his client had phoned the police on himself.

He added that there had been factors in McArthur’s life which had made him “prone to outbursts”.

The case was deferred for a criminal justice social work report until 18 March.