A chef who was thrown out of a north-east pub was wrestled to the ground when he came back to the seaside inn armed with a hammer.
Luke Kildare had previously been told to leave the Plough Inn in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, following a disturbance around 8pm on January 5 this year.
The 39-year-old returned an hour and a half later, claiming he was looking for his mobile phone.
But customers noticed the handle of a hammer poking out of Kildare’s pocket and when he tried to take it out, they panicked and tackled him to the ground.
Pub-goers restrained Kildare until police arrived to arrest him and his defence solicitor later told Aberdeen Sheriff Court his client was “extremely apologetic” for the incident.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllister told the court that the ordeal unfolded just after 9.30pm on the night the crime was committed.
He explained that Kildare had earlier been asked to leave the Skene Street venue around 8pm, after a “disagreement” with another man in the smoking area.
“The accused did so but returned around 9.30pm, asking if anyone had seen his mobile phone”, Mr McAllister said.
“At this point, a witness noticed that the accused appeared to have something within his left jacket pocket.
“On moving closer, they could see what appeared to be the handle of a hammer.
“The accused then reached into the pocket and made attempts to remove the hammer.”
Hammer sparked a struggle
The fiscal depute added: “It was at this point the man involved in the previous disagreement and another patron stepped forward and restrained Kildare on the floor of the pub.
“Whilst on the ground, the accused continued to try and get the hammer from his pocket but the witnesses managed to remove it and the accused was restrained until the police arrived.
“He was thereafter arrested and kept in custody to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court the next day.”
Possession of offensive weapon
Kildare, who’s already serving an eight-month prison sentence for another matter until March 2023, appeared in court from custody.
He pled guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.
But defence agent Peter Keene said Kildare, his client, had no intention of “swinging the hammer around the place or threatening the people”.
“He is a very talented chef”, the solicitor said. “He has worked in Michelin Star and fine dining restaurants.
“He recognises his opportunities for that are going to be fairly limited in Scotland but he is hoping to spread his wings and perhaps return to England or further afield.
“Those hopes, however, are for another day.”
‘Extremely apologetic’
Mr Keene added that Kildare was “extremely apologetic” for his actions.
“He cannot explain why he had a hammer with him”, he added. “He had not gone into the locus with the intention to swing it about and threaten the people.
“He was just looking for his mobile phone and he regrets that members of the public in the pub had to take him to the ground.
“He is extremely apologetic for his behaviour. He accepts it was wrong.”
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin jailed Kildare, formerly of The Hythe, Macduff, but currently a prisoner at HMP Grampian in Peterhead, for nine months.
The sheriff also granted a Crown application for forfeiture of the hammer.
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