The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Sheriff jails convict who made tattoo gun in cell
Device broke prison rules because it had potential to be used as a weapon
A sheriff has praised the ingenuity of a prisoner who created a fully-working tattoo gun in his cell.
But Kevin Hutcheon was still jailed for eight months after Sheriff William Wood told him the device broke prison rules because it could have been used as a weapon.
Sheriff Wood said: “You put significant effort and ingenuity into making that device.
“Perhaps on your release you could use some of that creativity to better effect.
“Maybe then you would avoid ending up in prison again. You are an experienced user of the prison service and must have known you would not be allowed to have that device.
“You clearly ought to appreciate that having anything with a point like that in the prison setting has the potential to be a weapon, even if it might not be in your hands.
“Also, if you were to use this on other people there may be a significant health risk.”
Depute fiscal Tina Dickie told Perth Sheriff Court that prison officers arrived to search Hutcheon’s cell because they had been given intelligence he may be hiding a mobile phone.
“While they were in the cell, the accused handed them a box which contained a home-made tattoo gun, which is an unauthorised item within the prison.
“The device was made up of a melted plastic prison fork, several electronic components, and a piece of wire used as the needle point of the gun.
“The wire had been shaved down to form a point,” the prosecutor said.
Solicitor Ian Flynn, defending, said his client – who has large tattoos on his neck and a design above his left eye – was simply a fan of having his skin inked with different designs.
Mr Flynn said: “In relation to the item he caused no problem to the prison staff from the word go. When they asked if he had anything he handed the item over.
“When you look at the accused you can see he is a fan of tattoos. He is covered with them. This was never designed to be a weapon but he does accept it has a point and was illegal.”
Hutcheon, 32, from Montrose, admitted having a prohibited article inside Perth Prison on July 19 last year.
He was jailed previously for 21 months for repeatedly stabbing a dog in an Angus street.
He left the Staffordshire bull terrier, named Rocco, “lifeless” after claiming it had bitten his foot.
When police arrived at the scene in Montrose, they found the dog with multiple injuries and covered in blood. Despite its wounds, the animal survived the attack.
A jury convicted Hutcheon of causing a protected animal unnecessary suffering by repeatedly stabbing it with a knife, contrary to the Animal Health and Welfare Act, and being in possession of a knife.