Thug into extra jail time for threats to police

A thug has been jailed after threatening to headbutt cops during a rammy outside his father’s home.

Alcoholic James Struthers was also handed jail time for carrying a blade in a Barrhead Street.

Appearing at Paisley Sheriff Court, he admitted the incident which occurred at his father’s home in Nertherton Road, Barrhead.

Depute fiscal John Penman told the court that Struthers, 30, turned up drunk at his dad’s house and began kicking off.

He said: “At around 6.30pm on January 19, police officers were called to an ongoing disturbance.

“The accused was within the driveway of the home address of the accused’s father and younger sister. He was extremely drunk and was shouting and swearing.

“He told officers to ‘get to f**k, and ‘I’ll stick the heid on youse’. He was asked to calm down.”

However, the court was told that Struthers, now behind bars at Low Moss Prison, continued with his aggressive behaviour while in the back of the police car heading for Govan police office.

The prosecutor continued: “He continued in the same manner, telling officers, ‘your f*****g for it’.”

The court also heard that a Community Payback Order he had been given previously for carrying a blade was to be revoked as he had failed to comply with it.

He had pleaded guilty earlier to carrying a craft blade on Netherton Road, in Barrhead, on September 22, 2014.

His defence agent Marco Buonaccorsi told the court that his client had suffered with alcohol addiction for many years and believed being in prison was his best chance to get sober.

He said: “He can’t recall any of the events of January 19 and offers no real explanation. He has a chronic addiction and sometimes attends his father’s to seek help.”

He added that the knife he was carrying, for which he was placed on a Community Payback Order, was actually for self harm.

Sheriff Seith Ireland told Struthers he would be staying behind bars for the next 11 months over both offences.

He said: “In respect of the incident last Friday when you turned up at your father’s home – he has been a great support to you, so this was very, very bad behaviour.

“But for your guilty plea, it would have been a sentence of seven months, but I have reduced that to five months, backdated to January 20.

“In respect of the solemn matter, I revoke the Community Payback Order and impose a custodial sentence of six months, which will run consecutively.”