A sweary drunk who told police officers that he was infected with Coronavirus and coughed at them during a Covid-19 lockdown has been jailed for eight months.
Lawrence Mutasa had been up all night drinking and turned up at Burnett Road police station in Inverness, during the January 2021 lockdown.
The 42-year-old banged on the front door of the police office and was arrested after shouting and swearing.
He told officers he’d tested positive for Covid and claimed that he was told to self-isolate by the NHS.
But when he learned he would have to wait for officers to put on personal protective equipment (PPE) before they could put him in a jail cell, Mutasa said he was negative.
Mutasa appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court via video link from custody.
He pled guilty to charges of threatening or abusive behaviour and culpable and reckless conduct.
He also admitted failing to appear at an earlier hearing in the case.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that on 18 January 2021, at around 7.25am, officers became aware of an individual shouting, swearing and banging on the front door of Burnett Road police station.
They brought Mutasa inside and learned he was attempting to contact an officer who had been trying to speak with him about another matter.
Mutasa continued to shout and swear
Mutasa was told that the officer was unavailable and when asked to confirm details, including his address, he became “irate” and repeatedly shouted “no comment”.
“He was asked to calm down several times, at which point, the accused got up out of the chair and began walking towards officers, shouting and swearing that he is a ‘hard man’.
“The accused was continually asked to desist and sit back down, however, he refused,” Mrs Gair told the court.
Mutasa was then arrested and then “disclosed that he had Covid and had been tested by the NHS and told to self-isolate” before coughing toward the constables.
Officers were instructed to put on full PPE, but when Mutasa realised that this would take some time, he told them he was not, in fact, infected with the virus.
“The accused said he was tired and wanted to get to a cell and stated that he did not have Covid.
“He was informed that his initial comment had to be taken seriously,” the depute fiscal explained.
Mutasa continued to shout and swear, calling officers c**** and one a f****** b****.
‘Drinking heavily’
Mutasa’s solicitor Willie Young told the court his client’s partner had been “pestering” him to contact the police after officers called at her home on a number of occasions wishing to speak to him.
He said: “He chose to attend at the police office in person,” and added this was “not the best decision he ever made, given that he had been drinking heavily throughout the night”.
When Mutasa arrived at Burnett Road police station, Mr Young said the doors were locked due to Covid restrictions, and attempts to use the buzzer system proved frustrating as they directed him to make a phone call.
“He had been standing outside for a fairly considerable period and was losing patience at this point,” Mr Young explained.
‘Irrational’ behaviour
The defence agent explained that his client’s “irrational” behaviour once inside the police station was caused by the circumstances and the alcohol he had consumed.
He added that Mutasa had “only a vague recollection of what took place”.
“When it became apparent to him exactly what was happening, he made it clear that he didn’t have Covid. He had never had Covid.
“Clearly the wheels were set in motion and he found himself detained.
“He apologises to all those concerned, for the inconvenience and for the alarm that was caused,” Mr Young said.
Sheriff Sara Matheson sentenced Mutasa of Rosehaugh Road in Inverness, to eight months imprisonment, backdating the sentence to August 19 of this year.
