Court / From Lerwick Sheriff Court – 15 April 2026
A TINGWALL man in charge of a fishing boat while intoxicated from alcohol has been fined £600.
Grant Huntington was out on his new boat within Scalloway harbour on 7 October last year when another vessel got into difficulty.
The 37-year old managed to tow the stricken vessel to safety but had also called the coastguard.
When coastguard officers arrived they noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from him, and police were called.
Appearing at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Huntington pled guilty to having 46 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when 25 microgrammes are allowed.
A SCALLOP fisherman who continued fishing while the remote electronic monitoring system on board his vessel was defect has been fined £2,000.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that Liam Johnson, Brae, had made 34 trips with his scallop boat Craignair (LK51) between 17 June and 19 August 2024 in the knowledge that the REM system was not working.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said it had been obvious to the 35-year old but he had “simply be burying his head in the sand”.
Defence solicitor Tommy Allen said his client had gone through a difficult period at the time and was difficult to contact.
Johnson had been sent a fixed penalty note of £2,000 but claimed he had never received it.
Allen told the court that this was not a case of undetected fishing as all the catch was sold through an agent and the required paperwork was in place.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said he noted what had been said and fined Johnson £2,000 plus the standard victim surcharge of £75.
A PERTH man has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour at an earlier court hearing.
The court heard David McArthur, 34, had travelled to Shetland to look after his children while his former partner took one of their kids to a hospital appointment.
The incident happened on 16 December last year, some days into his visit to the isles.
Speaking in mitigation, defence solicitor Tommy Allan said his client was struggling with his own mental health while there was a lot of strain on his family.
Although the couple were separated, McArthur was “very much involved in the upbringing of the children”, the solicitor said, adding: “Challenging as that is”.
He said the language McArthur used was not acceptable but suggested that both involved were struggling with the situation.
Sentencing McArthur, Sheriff Ian Cruickshank imposed a community payback order which includes unpaid work and a year long period of supervision. The order will be transferred to Perth.
A MAN who sent sexual images of himself to a shop worker in Shetland has had his sentenced deferred for a criminal justice social work report to be prepared.
Robert Nelson, of Ladywell, Musselburgh, plead guilty to the charge when he appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told the court how the shop worker had assisted the 50 year old in a shop on 10 September last year, only to be contacted by him via Facebook later in the day.
The fiscal said the images Nelson had sent showed him naked on the floor exposing his genitals, which led to the complainer alerting the police.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Nelson that the offences were notifiable under the sex offenders act.
He will have to return for sentencing on 13 May.
SENTENCE on a young man who was found lying intoxicated on the second floor of a family home in Gott on has been adjourned for reports.
Police also found a kitchen knife on Calvin Hunter when they were attending the incident at just before 7am on 29 December last year.
Hunter, of Tingwall, pleaded guilty charges of threatening or abusive behaviour and entering a dwellinghouse without invite when appearing at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the owner was alarmed after finding Hunter close to where the children were sleeping and instructed him to leave.
Police then found the 23-year old in the porch of the building where he had been waiting for them to arrive.
Defence solicitor Tommy Allen said his client had been “very intoxicated” and was suffering from complex mental health issues. There is very little that he remembers of the incident, he added.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank adjourned the case until 13 May for criminal justice and restriction of liberty reports to be compiled.
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