Hearing over smoke bomb incident
A hearing is to be held at Perth Sheriff Court next month to determine how a smoke bomb ended up inside a car stopped at city centre traffic lights.
The terrifying incident led to the driver and three of his passengers abandoning the vehicle after it was engulfed with thick red smoke.
Sheriff William Wood noted on Wednesday that 22-year-old Callum Torbet had told a social worker that he hadn’t intended to throw the missile into the other car - but that was at “direct variance”with the charge.
He warned the accused, of Newhouse Place, Perth:“If you deliberately threw the smoke bomb into another car, that might attract a custodial sentence.”
It could have a different outcome, however, if that was“where it ended up.”
Solicitor Paul Ralph told the court that his client had set off the device while in the front seat of a taxi which had pulled up alongside the other car at the lights.
He“got a fright”and threw it out of the open window.
The windows of the other car were also down and it ended up in the back of that vehicle.
Sheriff Wood has now fixed a proof in mitigation when evidence will be led to establish the exact facts.
Torbet admitted at an earlier court hearing that he culpably and recklessly ignited the smoke bomb in Perth’s Atholl Street on May 6.
The incident unfolded in Perth’s Atholl Street He then threw it from the taxi into onto the pavement, where it caught the open window of a car driven by fire. David Cargill. “One of the passengers stamped it
It filled the car with smoke, out,”explained the fiscal. obscuring the driver’s vision, and The court heard previously that Mr placing him and passengers Christy Cargill had his window open as he was McIntosh, Lauren Gray and Cody smoking. Torbet was in the front Wotherspoon in danger of injury. passenger seat of the taxi.
Depute fiscal Claire Kennedy Without warning, the accused threw explained at the initial court the smoke bomb out of his window appearance that the smoke bomb had and into the car parked alongside. hit Mr Cargill on the body before Mr Ralph said the smoke bomb had bouncing into the back of his vehicle. ended up in the footwell of the taxi
“He pulled the car over and he and and Torbet had picked it up. his passengers quickly got out,”she He started to unscrew it, thinking it added. would have a fuse - but it didn’t.
The smoke bomb was then thrown “It went off and he threw it out the window. Unfortunately it landed in the other car.”
Sheriff William Wood, who described it at the time as“a strange set of circumstances,”had deferred sentence and called for a background report on the accused.
He also wanted to know if there had been any damage caused to Mr Cargill’s car.
Depute fiscal Bill Kermode told the court this week“remarkably”there had been no damage to the vehicle or property.
Torbet will now have to wait until after the evidential hearing on February 19 to discover his fate.