A man accused of abducting two women in Stonehaven and threatening to kill them is likely to be acquitted as he suffers from a mental disorder.
Martynas Kulvinskas appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where it was revealed doctors had deemed the 32-year-old fit to stand trial but “not criminally responsible” at the time of the alleged offences
Based on this assessment, fiscal depute Lucy Smith invited Sheriff Christine McCrossan to acquit Kulvinskas of the three charges he faces.
However, the sheriff imposed an interim order and requested further reports into Kulvinskas’ background.
‘Very, very serious’
Sheriff McCrossan told Kulvinskas the recommendation of the doctors who assessed him was that he “did not have criminal responsibility” what what he did.
“What happened was very, very serious indeed,” she said, adding: “The decision has been made that you will be held in hospital in order to figure out how this incident happened and what could be done to prevent it happening again.”
Armed police raced to the scene on Hunter Place, Stonehaven, around 12.40pm on November 21 2022, following reports of a disturbance.
The area and surrounding streets, including Mearns Drive, were sealed off and local people were requested to stay indoors.
At the time, a police insider with knowledge of the incident, described it as a “hostage situation”.
Following the incident, Police Scotland confirmed trained officers had discharged a firearm and a taser.
Accused alleged to have made threats to kill
According to the charges, one 64-year-old woman was allegedly dragged into her vehicle and detained by Kulvinskas, who held a knife to her throat.
A second woman, 74, was also allegedly held at knife-point by the Lithuanian national after he had shoved her to the ground and the pair had struggled before he detained her by holding a blade at her throat.
It is claimed Kulvinskas told both women he was going to “kill” them.
Kulvinskas, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, also faced a further charge of being in possession of a knife.
Based on Sheriff McCrossan’s decision to impose an interm order, Kulvinskas will appear again on April 1 2024, where a final decision will be made about whether to acquit him.
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