Man had knife at hotel door

A Perthshire man banged at the door of a local hotel while armed with a 10-inch knife and wearing a mask.

Thirty-two-year-old Maxwell Mullarkey, of Feus, Auchterarder, will discover his fate on April 25 after a background report has been prepared.

He had denied two charges alleged to have taken place at the Craigrossie Hotel, in the town’s High Street.

But the jury of eight women and seven men took less than 20 minutes to unanimously convict him.

He was found guilty of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at the hotel on April 21 last year while in possession of a knife and wearing a mask.

He was also found guilty of having the offensive weapon – again with his face masked.

He had previously admitted being in possession of an air rifle.

PC Lee Buckley (31) told the two-day trial he had been with another officer, a dog handler, as they searched the area between the hotel and the accused’s home.

The dog, which can detect human scent, led the officers to a knife which was on top of a wall at a nearby garden.

His colleague, PC Keenan, picked it up.

He estimated the curved blade to be around 10 inches long, with a black leather handle wrapped in tape.

He described it as“more like a hunting knife.”

Mullarkey was later traced and was“smelling of alcohol” but was totally coherent.

When quizzed about the weapon, he told police:“I’m intrigued to where the knife came from.”

When charged with having it in his possession, he stated: “I never had a knife.”

PC Buckley admitted under cross-examination by lawyer David Holmes, the weapon hadn’t been checked for DNA or fingerprints, stating they had been informed the accused had been wearing gloves.

Mr Holmes then asked him: “Did nobody indicate it was fingerless gloves?”

The accused exercised his right not to give evidence.

Mullarkey was ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work in 2012 after he was caught with a knife following a bust-up with a female at his home in Auchterarder.

He was working as a chef at that time and the court heard he had been drinking to excess.