OAP denies guns and porn charges

A pensioner has denied having extreme porn and ‘dumdum’ bullets in his possession at his home in the Auchterarder.

Sixty-five-year-old James McCullie, of Hillhead Farm Steadings, Auchterarder, will face trial before a jury at Perth Sheriff Court on March 26.

The proceedings are expected to last a maximum of two days and he was freed on bail meantime.

It is alleged that between March 28, 2011, and September 8, 2015, at his home, he had extreme pornographic images depicting, in an explicit and realistic way, images of bestiality.

The second charge alleges that on September 8, 2015, again at his home, he was in possession, without the authority of the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers - prohibited ammunition.

That is alleged to have been five live long rifle cartridges, designed or adapted to expand on impact, contrary to firearms regulations.

A co-accused – Stuart McCullie (41), of the same address – appeared with him in the dock and admitted two firearms charges.

He had his sentence deferred until the trial.

He admitted that on September 8, 2015, at his home, he had prohibited ammunition in his possession without the Secretary of State’s authority.

It comprised seven apparently live 6mm cartridges containing the irritant CN.

He also was found with a prohibited weapon – a pistol designed or adapted for the discharge of noxious liquid gas or blank and gas cartridges.

The background to these charges will be given after the trial. problem, admitted having the knife in his possession in Perth’s Mill on November 25 last year.

He was subject to two bail orders, dated November 20 and 23, from the Perth court at the time.

Depute fiscal Charmaine Gilmartin said that Black had been detained by police shortly after 2pm in connection with an incident which now wasn’t being proceeded with.

He was immediately searched and the blade was discovered.

A photograph of the knife was shown to the sheriff.

Solicitor Paul Ralph said that his client had tackled his long-standing substance misuse problem, sometimes with success but other times it had “got the better of him.”

He had the knife, it was claimed, to cut the security tags from bottles of alcohol he planned to steal.

In December, 2012, Black, who was already serving a lengthy jail term for having a knife, was jailed for 27 months for a drink-fuelled blade attack in a city centre flat.

The court heard that he repeatedly stabbed George MacPhee with the weapon in a flat in the city’s County Place.

The victim suffered three separate wounds – two to the chest area – and staggered down stairs and out into the street, leaving a trail of blood.

A passer-by noticed he was bleeding and administered first aid until he was treated by paramedics and taken to Perth Royal Infirmary.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Valerie Johnston told him: “The courts have repeatedly warned that knife attacks have to be severely discouraged, given how serious the consequences can be.

“In this drunken attack, the lack of serious consequences was a matter of luck.

“There were three stab wounds, two in the chest where the major organs are located.”

The sheriff noted that Black has an extensive record which includes robbery and assault and robbery which had resulted in increasing jail terms after he appeared on indictment.

He had also been given a 26-month sentence in June, 2012, for having a knife in the city centre. That offence took place after the attack on Mr MacPhee.

Black admitted engaging in a stand-up fight with the victim at a flat in County Place on February 20 and repeatedly stabbing him.

But part of the charge which alleged it was to Mr MacPhee’s severe injury and permanent disfigurement was deleted. Street