Inverness bus passenger who terrified woman with throat-cutting gesture is jailed
A bus passenger who terrified a woman on a journey through Inverness by staring at her while drawing his finger across his neck as if to suggest he was cutting her throat has been jailed.
Brian Robertson was appearing by video link at Inverness Sheriff Court after previously admitting charges of threatening behaviour, assault to injury and refusing to give his personal details to police when required to do so.
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Sentence had been deferred for a background report on the 43-year-old who was jailed for 12 months by Sheriff Gary Aitken. It was backdated to the date of Robertson's remand on August 2 last year.
At an earlier hearing, fiscal depute Pauline Gair told Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald that the woman had intended disembarking at Raigmore Hospital but changed her mind when Robertson alighted first and then stared at her through the window.
Mrs Gair said: "He put his face up to the glass and drew his fingers across his neck and pointed at her. This left her in a state of fear and she contacted police. Police attended but the accused refused to give them his details.
"He challenged one of the officers to fight, putting his fists up and miming punching motions. Then he made sexualised comments towards them."
Mrs Gair added that Robertson, designated as an Inverness prisoner, was handcuffed and put in a police van and during the journey to Burnett Road Police Station and in a police cell he continued to make threats.
"In the cell he lashed out at one officer and hit him in the face and threatened to stab him in the neck before spitting in his eye,” she said. “The officer suffered discomfort in his eye and when he was punched, he bit the inside of his mouth causing a small cut."
Defence solicitor Marc Dickson said that there was a background of mental health problems with his client but ongoing psychiatric support for his client would continue on his release.
