A man has been jailed for attempting to rob an Aberdeen paper shop with a pair of scissors.
Serial offender Jason Kuzmicki terrified shop worker Ross MacKinnon when he entered the city’s Thistle News and presented the weapon.
The 32-year-old then demanded cash, but eventually fled empty-handed when his brave victim also armed himself with scissors to defend himself.
Yesterday, Kuzmicki appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted carrying out the attempted armed robbery on September 9 this year.
The court heard he had been spotted walking past the Holburn Street shop earlier that morning before returning to the premises around 11.30am.
Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed said when he entered the newsagent he approached the counter, where Mr MacKinnon was standing, and produced the scissors.
Kuzmicki, described as a prisoner in HMP Grampian, then said “give me the money”.
The court heard Mr MacKinnon started to back away from the register and tried to reason with Kuzmicki.
But he became “increasingly aggressive” and started to swear at his victim, telling him to hurry up.
The court heard Mr MacKinnon then noticed a pair of scissors sitting beside the till so he picked them up to ward-off Kuzmicki, who then ran from the shop.
Police found him nearby with the scissors a short time later.
The court heard that when he was interviewed he told officers he had the weapon to give it to his mum, and said he was only “having a laugh with the boy in the shop”.
His agent, solicitor Iain Hingston, said his client had been remanded in custody since the offence and had been subjected to threats by a number of people he owed drug debts.
He added that Kuzmicki was genuinely remorseful for his actions and the upset he caused Mr MacKinnon.
Sheriff Graham Buchanan said there was no alternative but to send Kuzmicki to prison for the “terrifying” crime.
He was jailed for 28 months.