A serial offender who narrowly avoided jail after claiming a death crash turned his life to ruins was back in the dock yesterday for robbing a taxi driver and stealing a car.
Former soldier Scott Fowler was placed on a community payback order in March after he stole hundreds of pounds worth of goods from Asda.
The sheriff allowed the recovering drug addict the chance to mend his ways after the court heard he had managed to keep himself on the straight and narrow for years following a troubled youth – only for his life to begin to spiral out of control when a car he was driving was involved in a fatal smash almost two years ago.
The court heard that despite no blame being attributed to Fowler, he was overcome with grief and guilt and turned back to drugs to help him cope.
This in turn led him to commit crimes again.
When he appeared for sentence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in March, Sheriff Kenneth Stewart told him he was giving the repeat offender a chance to “take the right crossroads in his life”.
Instead of sending him to jail, he ordered the 34-year-old to carry out 215 hours of unpaid work in the community and placed him under supervision for 18 months.
But yesterday Fowler, of 16 Charlotte Gardens, Aberdeen, appeared back in the dock facing new charges which were carried out before his last sentence.
Fowler admitted assaulting Linda Jack, a taxi driver, on September 14 last year at Cadenhead Place, Aberdeen, by pushing onto her neck, punching her on the face and demanding that she hand over her money.
He then stole £10 from her.
Fowler also admitted stealing a Fiat Punto from Ashgrove Road in Aberdeen on the same day and driving it away without insurance.
He will return to court next month to be sentenced.
The court previously heard Fowler, who developed a heroin addiction at the age of 19, had not offended since he was released from a previous prison sentence in 2004.
Following his time behind bars, he turned his life around and even graduated from college.
But his life was ruined once more in 2013 when he was involved in a fatal crash on the city’s South Deeside Road.