Inverness thug smashed his way into a Dingwall house
An Inverness thug who tried to smash his way into a Ross-shire house with a nail-embedded wooden plank had been released early from prison after serving less than half its term.
But at Inverness Sheriff Court, 25-year-old Patrick Stewart, of Longman caravan site, Inverness was ordered to serve out the remaining 213 days and had eight months added after admitting four offences committed in Dingwall on April 19 - five months after he was liberated on licence.
The court heard that Stewart smashed the window of a door in Chestnut Road, Dingwall after he was refused entry by the occupier who feared he would cause trouble, fiscal depute Victoria Silver told Sheriff Ian Cruickshank.
Stewart shouted and swore at the occupants who locked the door with Stewart trying to unlock it through the broken pane. When police were called, he fled but was apprehended at a house nearby and gave police a false name in an effort to distance himself from the disturbance.
However police checks revealed his true identity, Ms Silver said, and as he was being placed in a cell van, Stewart struggled with a sergeant.
Stewart pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour, vandalism, attempting to pervert the course of justice and resisting arrest.
His lawyer David Patterson told Sheriff Cruickshank: "He had been released on licence on December 18 after serving just less than half of his sentence imposed in March 2024.
"He had remained sober for a considerable time but relapsed."
Mr Patterson explained that his client's partner had health issues and this caused him to start drinking again. “He is a young man who has had a challenging upbringing and his life at times has been chaotic,” he said.
"From a young age he has been addicted to drugs and alcohol having been thrown out by his parents with no schooling and told to make his own life. He recalls very little about the offences and chanced his arm by giving the police a false name."
Sheriff Cruickshank told Stewart: "These are horrendous offences and there can be no excuse for acting in this manner. They were committed during an unexpired portion of a sentence imposed for breaches of community payback orders which were intended to give you support and rehabilitate you.
"You didn’t take that chance. "
