Bank manager in gun ‘prank’ gets two years
A BANK worker who pointed a gun at an ice cream seller has been jailed – after exposing his identity by sending his victim an apology on Facebook.
Ian Hamilton, 30, was caught out after writing to ‘say soz’ and claim that he had been ‘a bit daft’.
At Dumbarton Sheriff Court yesterday, his lawyer pleaded against a jail term and claimed his client had been ‘extremely intoxicated’ and acting out of character.
But the TSB accounts manager – who has since lost his £26,000 job – was given 26 months by Sheriff Simon Pender.
Hamilton, of Kilwinning, Ayrshire, approached Neil McIntyre’s ice cream van in the town at 3.30pm on July 3 last year.
He told the retailer he was ‘getting robbed’ then pointed the gun at him. But Mr McIntyre, 31, grabbed the weapon and tried to wrestle it away from the would-be robber, who managed to keep hold of the firearm and fled.
The ice cream seller recognised Hamilton only as someone local to the area – until he received a message on the Facebook page for his business.
Hamilton wrote: ‘Alright bud. Just wanted to say soz for pointing that gun at you, it was only a toy.
‘It’s a bit daft, I know, but I had a bevvy in me and I thought it was funny.
‘I know it’s not, though. I’ve got rid of it now so it doesn’t cause any problems.’
Hamilton had stolen the ball-bearing gun from a friend during a drinking session on the morning of the robbery.
He pleaded guilty last month to a charge of assault with intent to rob.
Yesterday, his defence solicitor Fraser Alexander
‘Extremely intoxicated’
said: ‘His position is that this was a joke. He was extremely under the influence of alcohol.
‘He was drinking the night before, heavily, woke the following morning and continued to drink, which resulted in him being extremely intoxicated.
‘He does not seek to use it as an excuse for his conduct. This is not the behaviour one would expect from a man that comes from the background Mr Hamilton comes from.’
Mr Alexander added: ‘He has already lost what was a good job, with prospects, through his own foolish actions.’