Knife raid on bookies after prison release

A serial criminal robbed a bookies at knifepoint only three weeks after being released early from prison, a court was told on Tuesday.

At the High Court in Glasgow, 29-year-old Scott Mcmillan pled guilty to robbing Ladbrokes in Cadzow Street, Hamilton, of £175 on June 7.

He also admitted spitting on Constable Tracy Torrance at Motherwell police station later that day.

Prosecutor Steven Borthwick told the court that Mcmillan was jailed for 36 months in 2018 for assault with intent to rob and assault and robbery and was freed in May this year.

Mr Borthwick said:“at 8.30pm there were no customers in the shop and employee Kevin Nelson was on the phone to the manager of another branch.

“The accused came in with a large kitchen knife and shouted:‘give money over’.”

Mr Nelson said into the phone“i’m getting robbed” and then handed over £80 worth of coins.

This seemed to annoy Mcmillan who shouted:“i said f***ing notes.”

Mcmillan was handed a bundle of notes worth £175 and fled on foot.

He was identified from CCTV footage in the premises and arrested later that night.

The court heard that he has 26 previous convictions, including three for assault and robbery.

Judge Lord Turnbull deferred sentence until next month at the High Court in Edinburgh and told Mcmillan he was considering an extended sentence.

Lord Turnbull said:“he committed this offence three weeks after being released from the previous offence.”

He remanded Mcmillan in custody.

Solicitor advocate Shahid Latif will give his plea in mitigation at the later date.