A needle-brandishing mugger has been caged after threatening to infect revellers with AIDS if they didn’t hand over cash.
Terrance Masson, known as Stewart, followed a group of friends through Aberdeen city centre in the early hours of the morning before threatening them and demanding money.
Armed with a hypodermic needle, the 32-year-old made disturbing threats to infect the group with AIDS.
And Stewart went on to mug a number of other people while armed with a knife in a desperate bid for drug money.
‘Give me whatever money you have’
Fiscal depute David Ballock told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the first incident happened around 6am on March 5 when a group of two women and a man left G Casino on Shiprow.
Stewart began to follow them as they walked along Huntly Street and pounced as they passed the junction with Summer Street.
He demanded money and, when told that they didn’t have any, said: “Have you heard of AIDS? Look what I’ve got.”
Stewart then held up a hypodermic needle with brown liquid inside and warned: “You better give me f****** money or I’m going to stab you.”
The group repeatedly asked Stewart to leave them alone but he continued to threaten them, saying he could “give them AIDS with the needle in two seconds”.
But when one of the group called the police, Stewart walked off and vanished from sight.
‘His whole body was shaking’
In a separate incident just after 7am on March 6, Stewart targeted a lone male at a bus stop on the Gallowgate.
After initially asking the man the time, Stewart pulled out a knife, with a blade of around 20cm, and demanded: “Give me your wallet.”
The man grabbed Stewart’s arm and a struggle ensued, during which Stewart pushed his victim to the ground.
Stewart stood over the man, pointed the knife at him and again demanded his wallet.
Fortunately, a bus arrived at the stop at that moment and Stewart fled.
His victim, who escaped uninjured and with all his belongings, managed to board the bus to safety.
A little over 10 minutes later though, Stewart found yet another victim, approaching a lone woman outside her place of work on Exchange Street.
Stewart tapped her on the shoulder and was seen holding what she initially took to be a screwdriver but was in fact the same knife used in the earlier incident.
Pointing the blade at her, Stewart said: “Give me whatever money you have.”
The terrified woman said “okay”, took out her wallet and handed him £65.
‘Became involved in a social group immersed in the drug culture’
Stuffing the notes into his pocket, Stewart barked: “Is that all you have?”
Opening her wallet again, the woman grabbed as many coins as she could and handed them to Stewart.
The mugger looked at the coins, dropped most of them on the ground and said: “Nah, I don’t need that s***.”
Mr Ballock told the court: “The accused seemed skittish. His whole body was shaking and was was speaking quietly.”
Stewart told the woman to face the door and said: “Stay there and don’t turn around.”
He then fled, leaving the woman “shocked and scared”.
Police reviewed CCTV in the area which showed Stewart run out of Exchange Street, throw an item into a construction site, then remove some of his clothing and place it in a bin.
The item was recovered and found to be the knife, however the bin was emptied before police could check it.
‘These offences would have been terrifying for your victims’
Stewart was arrested later that evening in relation to other matters, and then identified as the male in the CCTV footage and linked to all three incidents.
Stewart, of HMP Grampian, pled guilty to three charges of attempted robbery, one of assault and attempted robbery, one of possession of a knife and one of assault and robbery.
Defence agent Paul Barnett said his client, a father-of-one, had a “limited” record, adding: “This is his first offence for some time and by far the most serious.”
He said Stewart had worked as a joiner but “became involved in a social group immersed in the drug culture” and developed a “serious opiate addiction”.
Mr Barnett said: “He’s been afflicted by that addiction since his 20s. The offences he’s pled guilty to are all related to that heroin addiction.
“He was overcome by the urge to score heroin. His whole body was shaking during the commission of these offences.”
The solicitor said Stewart was “deeply remorseful” for his actions and is “disgusted by his behaviour”.
Sheriff Ian Wallace said: “These offences would have been terrifying for your victims.”
He ordered Stewart to be jailed for 28 months.
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