A 25-year-old from Greenock who admitted possessing ecstasy in a Lerwick pub and then failed to turn up in court for sentencing on five occasions has been fined £300.
Jordan McCafferty, of Clydewynd, had previously pleaded guilty by letter to possessing 0.3 grams of ecstasy powder with an estimated value of £40 at the Douglas Arms bar on October 30, 2015.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said McCafferty had “provided a number of far-fetched excuses” for failing to appear in court five times since then.
He eventually handed himself in to the police on Sunday and had been in custody for two days before appearing in Lerwick Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client, a pipe-fitter who is due to start a new job this week, had been working offshore on three of the five occasions, while on another his grandmother had passed away and the fifth time he had been in Amsterdam and his flight had been cancelled.
In relation to the offence, Allan said McCafferty – who has a pervious conviction for drug dealing back in 2014 – had assured him: “It won’t happen again – this has been way too expensive for me.”
Sheriff Philip Mann said that, while the amount of the class A substance was relatively small, the court had to take a serious view of the offence – especially given his repeated failure to show up.
He added: “If you offend in Shetland, you come to court in Shetland.”
