Jail for man who told police he had been robbed

Police spent more than 100 hours investigating a robbery claim which turned out to be false, a court heard.

Daniel Peter McAlpine McLellan was jailed at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old had previously admitted falsely telling police that he had been robbed on February 25, 2015.

He also pleaded guilty to resisting arrest on September 9 of last year in Woodlands, Sauchie.

The court heard that McLellan had attended Stirling Police Office at 11am on February 25, 2015, and told officers that he had been robbed by two men.

Fiscal depute Jennifer Harkins said: “Police spent approximately 121 hours investigating the complaint of this robbery.

“The various methods that police looked into helped them deduce that the claims had been false and that no robbery had taken place.”

When police went to arrest McLellan at 11.05pm on September 9, 2016, he had became upset and repeatedly struck out with his arms and legs.

Defending, Claire McCarron said that her client had issues with valium and alcohol dependency, and was living in homeless accommodation at the time of the incident.

She said:“He has admitted that he wasted police time in making up an in offence, in order to get a lift home.”

McLellan’s address was given on court papers as Woodlands in Sauchie.

However the court heard he is now living in England and no longer had issues with alcohol or drugs.

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson said that police had wasted many hours in investigating the claims, and that prison was the only option.

He said:“You have a bad record over a long period for a variety of offending. The accusation you made wasted police time and was a particularly serious accusation in itself.”

McLellan was sentenced to a total of 11 months in prison, seven months for making the false claim and four months for resisting arrest.