Monday courts round-up – In the dock with Scotland’s youngest recorded alcoholic

Good evening – here are the stories that caught the attention of our reporters today.

Addict back behind bars

Scotland’s youngest recorded alcoholic who is now a heroin and crack cocaine addict has been jailed for three months.

Lee Dyce was to be assessed for a strict drug treatment and testing order but failed to keep contact with his assessors.

He was arrested on warrant and appeared from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court today to be sentenced afresh.

Sheriff Robert Macdonald told the 34-year-old that he would have imposed a 30-month jail sentence for the serious assault which Dyce had previously admitted.

‘I’ll tell your wife everything’

A woman blackmailed a boat skipper to fund her drug habit – by threatening to show his wife their saucy text messages.

Laura Chapman had a brief relationship with a married captain of a boat that regularly docked in Macduff.

But when he ended things, the 35-year-old became upset and resorted to demanding various sums of cash in order to buy her silence.

The skipper paid up on three occasions, but when Chapman demanded a fourth payment he told his wife he was being blackmailed and contacted the police.

Electrician’s shocking threat

A row over the family home sparked a reaction in an electrician – and caused his ex-partner fear and alarm, a court has heard.

Colin Dewar of Redcastle View, Kirkhill, made repeated calls and texts to the mother of his child and then threatened to send a video to her employers to get her into trouble, Inverness Sheriff Court heard.

Defence solicitor John MacColl assured Sheriff David Sutherland that it was not a sexual video but his 39-year-old client’s actions were borne out of frustration at not receiving a £20,000 payment for his share of equity in their Inverness home.

The court was told his ex-partner is now the sole owner of the house and there is no formal legal agreement that Dewar would have a right to the equity of the house unless it was sold, which it hasn’t been.

Dewar admitted engaging in a course of conduct which would cause his ex-partner fear and alarm by repeatedly calling and texting her and demanding money. The offence occurred between October 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020.

Mr MacColl said: “He accepts he made a mistake and this can be viewed as an isolated incident.”

Sheriff Sutherland called for a background report.

First offender Dewar will re-appear on October 18 for sentence.

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