Caol drugs man spared jail by sheriff

A CAOL man who admitted possessing cocaine at MacRae’s Lane in Fort William on October 14 last year was warned by a sheriff last week he might not be treated so leniently if he is found to commit a similar offence in the future.

Craig Tolmie, 25, of Camesky Road, had previously pleaded guilty and appeared before Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald last week for sentencing at Fort William Sheriff Court.

Procurator Fiscal Robert Weir said police officers on foot patrol at 12.30am had seen Tolmie with a small bag of white powder and had detained him as a result.

The powder was subsequently identified as cocaine, weighing under a gram, and worth £50.

Defence agent Hamish Melrose said his client was a machine operator who was single and lived with his parents and that he had pleaded guilty at the outset.

The court heard Tolmie had a previous similar conviction for which he had been fined £100 by a justice of the peace court in Fort William.

‘That does not seem to have deterred him because here he is back at court for having another bag of white powder,’ said Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald.

‘He can afford to buy cocaine, travel to court for having that cocaine and be fined again.’

Fining Tolmie £400, she warned him: ‘If you come back to court in the future for any analogous offending, the court might not treat you so leniently.’