A teenage gunman who sparked a major police incident in Shetland will remain locked up until he is sentenced, a sheriff ruled yesterday.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard that a psychiatric report on 16-year-old Samuel Barlow was not yet available for yesterday’s sitting when Barlow was due to be dealt with.
An application for him to be released on bail in the meantime was refused by Sheriff Philip Mann.
The teenager was arrested after aiming an air rifle at local people and police during a stand-off in Lerwick’s Westerloch area on September 23, and he has since been held in the Polmont young offenders institution.
At the height of the incident firearms officers from Inverness were flown to Shetland by RAF helicopter from Lossiemouth to support the local force.
The court was told at an earlier hearing that Barlow came very close to being shot by armed response officers.
Barlow pled guilty to four assault charges and one of behaving in an abusive and threatening manner.
Yesterday defence solicitor Tommy Allan said psychiatric assessment requested by the court was not available.
He added this was no fault of Barlow but was due to the personal circumstances of the doctor tasked with assessing him.
Sheriff Mann said releasing Barlow on bail was “not appropriate” given the seriousness of the offence that could have easily ended up at a higher court.
He added: “I don’t want to raise any false hopes here, as a custodial sentence is very much on my mind, and I need to be persuaded of any alternatives.
“The best option is to defer further and for you to remain in custody meantime.”
Barlow is due to appear again on 4 February.
When Barlow first appeared in court it was said that only the police officers’ professionalism and courage saved the 16-year-old’s life. They were flown to the Northern Isles to provide back-up afterterrified members of the public made a string of999 calls as the teenager stalked Shetland armed with a rifle.
The court heard there had been a number of occasions when the firearms officers had to decide whether “to pull the trigger or not”. The youth threatened local people, and police had to hide behind a fire station building when Barlow pointed his gun at them.