Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Drunk in ‘taxi’ tirade
Man who got in wrong car fined for abuse and attack
A DRU N K E N h o s pit a l worker got i n a ca r he thought was a taxi, then made racial remarks to two men and attacked a woman, a court heard.
Reece Cuthbert, 25, demanded money from the men in the car before grabbing the hair of a woman who filmed his conduct.
During his tirade, Cuthbert said: “I’ll ******* knock you out,” and accused the men of running an “illegal taxi”.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard the woman had left the front passenger side to withdraw money from an ATM on Reform Street.
Cuthbert, a maintenance technician at Ninewells Hospital, got in the front seat, thinking it was a taxi.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova said there was a row and Cuthbert made violent threats, including telling one of the men: “I’ll punch your pus. Give me £20 and I will be gone.”
She said the woman saw what was happening and filmed it before calling 999. Cuthbert then got out of the car and was aggressive.
“He ran towards her and he grabbed her hair from behind,” said Ms Apostolova.
The court heard Cuthbert let go and fled when she shouted in pain but was later caught by police.
Cuthbert, of Haddington Avenue, pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on October 27 2019 on Reform Street by shouting, swearing, threatening violence and demanding money from Munawar Ali and Nazir Valimohamed. He admitted that the offence was racially aggravated. He also admitted pulling on Nadya Elbozidi’s hair in the same incident.
His solicitor Carolyn Leckie said Cuthbert had consumed too much alcohol on a night out with friends and became separated from them.
She said he was “highlyembarrassed” and has since stopped drinking alcohol.
Before ordering him to pay a total of £1,300 in compensation, Sheriff Lorna Drummond said: “It’s obviously not acceptable...you have behaved in a really inappropriate manner.”