Wishaw lout jailed for fire threat
A Wishaw yob has been jailed for making vile threats to police officers and spitting after he was arrested.
Mark Langford warned he would kill officers’children and burn down Motherwell Police Station.
Jailing him for 17 months, a sheriff said his repeated spitting was a particularly serious offence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Langford, 28, admitted charges of threatening or abusive behaviour, police assault and culpable and reckless conduct.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard this week that police officers arrested him for an alleged bail offence and took him to University Hospital Wishaw in the early hours of July 16 for a “welfare check”.
He became abusive, telling the officers:“I’ll kill your wife and your kids, and you can watch it all. I’ll burn down the Motherwell Police Office.
“I’ll remember your faces and if I see you out on the street I’ll carve you up.”
Langford also hurled sectarian abuse and when charged he replied:“I hope your baby dies.”
Hospital staff begged him to keep quiet, but he swore at them, then refused to take a blood test.
Jennifer Cunningham, prosecuting, told the court:“The accused was declared fit for discharge and as he was being placed in the police cell van he spat towards four officers, narrowly missing them. A spit hood was applied, but en route to Motherwell Police Office he managed to take this off and spat on the walls of the cell van.
“He was still spitting when the hood was put back on.”
Defence agent Stephen MacBride said Langford, formerly of Craigneuk, had obtained a tenancy in Wishaw after falling out with his father.
But his new home was broken into and he lost most of the household goods.
Mr MacBride stated:“He was in an extremely bad place - at rock bottom.
“When he was arrested for an alleged breach of bail he trawled for every insult he could think of.
“It must have been very upsetting for the police officers hearing this, but these were empty threats.”
Passing sentence, Sheriff Douglas Brown told Langford:“Assault by spitting in the current pandemic has to be seriously discouraged.”
The sheriff backdated the 17-month stretch to July 17 as Langford has been in custody.