Fort man fined £400 for causing a disturbance

A Fort William man was fined £400 at the town’s sheriff court this week, after it heard how police found him holding a garden fork in one hand and a brick in the other and creating a disturbance.

Jake David McPhee, 21, of Mcandie Court, appeared before Sheriff Bill Taylor and pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person fear and alarm by shouting and swearing, uttering threats of violence and brandishing a garden fork and a brick.

The offence took place on January 27 this year and procurator fiscal Robert Weir said police arrived in Mcandie Court following a

999 call.

‘On attending, officers found the accused holding a fork and a brick and shouting at another address in Mcandie Court,’ said Mr Weir.

‘Police officers spoke to him and, to be fair to the accused, he co-operated fully with them.’ Defence agent Stephen Kennedy said McPhee was single, had just finished a job as a labourer and was a first offender.

‘On the day in question, he had been socialising at a neighbour’s flat and had fallen out with another young man who was there,’ Mr Kennedy said.

‘Mr McPhee had then left the flat but returned and demanded that this other young man come outside with a view to resolving the earlier matter between them and the comments referred to by Mr Weir were made.

‘He subsequently apologised to his neighbours for his conduct and co-operated fully with police when they arrived.’

Fining McPhee £400, Sheriff Taylor told him: ‘This must have been a very alarming scene for the neighbours, given that you had a fork in one hand and a brick in the other.

‘But I take into account what has been said on your behalf and that you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.’