A man who brandished a baton at a taxi driver following a row over a fare has been spared jail at Inverness Sheriff Court.
William Williamson aggressively kicked the taxi’s door after he was asked to get out of the vehicle and then produced and extended a “police-style” baton, swinging it at the driver.
When officers arrived at the scene in Holm Dell Road, Inverness, Nairn resident Williamson, 20, told them: “He tried to charge me £75 for a ride home.”
Williamson appeared for sentencing on charges of threatening behaviour and assault in relation to the incident.
He was also sentenced for a second assault charge where he also produced a baton.
Fiscal depute Emily Hood told the court that on July 25 2022 Williamson had entered a taxi and got into a disagreement with the driver.
Inverness taxi fare dispute led to assault
“Given he wasn’t paying a fare upfront, he was asked to get out of the taxi,” Ms Hood said.
At this point William “aggressively kicked the door of the taxi” before producing the weapon.
“He held a police-style baton, extending it in front of his person, and brandished it towards the witness,” the fiscal depute told Sheriff Gary Aitken.
The accused then “began to lunge towards the witness”.
Police were called and when officers arrived Williamson told them “The taxi driver is a p**** he tried to charge me £75 for a ride home.”
The baton was recovered from inside his jacket.
‘This is what you deserve’
Ms Hood also detailed how on February 7 last year Williamson approached a man on the A96 at Nairn and told him: “This is what you deserve for getting wide with me.”
He then produced a baton and swung it at the witness, who told him to “f*** off” before attempting to leave the scene.
On this occasion, the baton was not recovered.
Defence solicitor David Patterson told Sheriff Gary Aitken that his client had “matured dramatically” following a brief period in custody.
He said there was “no excuse” for the offences, which were committed in a “pretty chaotic” period of his client’s life.
“He was drinking, he was mixing with negative influences. However, his bad attitude was clearly the overriding factor,” the defence agent said.
Mr Patterson said his client had since “shifted that attitude completely”.
Sheriff Aitken told Williamson, of Anne Crescent, Nairn: “Mr Patterson tells me that the penny has finally dropped and you are going to sort your life out.
“That had better be true or you will very soon find yourself back in Polmont – for a lot longer than a week.”
He imposed community payback orders with a year’s supervision and 160 hours of unpaid work in the community.
The sheriff also ordered the forfeiture of the baton.