A 20-year-old Inverness woman convicted of unlawfully having a butter knife in a public place broke down in tears of relief after a jury delivered its verdict yesterday.
Kaiya Slaney of Glendoe Terrace had just been told by Sheriff Margaret Neilson that she was not considering jail for the offence.
Sentence was deferred until May 5 for a background report and Slaney had her bail continued.
She had denied the charge at Inverness Sheriff Court but pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and struggling violently with two police sergeants on April 23 last year in Union Street.
The court heard that officers had been dealing with another incident when they saw 20 year old Slaney and verified that there was a warrant for her arrest.
When they tried to arrest her, she reacted violently, lashing out with her arms and legs and damaged a pair of handcuffs.
The officers told the court that a butter knife fell from her clothing as they battled to get her under control
The jury took less than half an hour to return a guilty by majority decision and Slaney looked on the verge of breaking down in the dock as she waited to hear what the Sheriff would say to her.
Then the Sheriff told defence solicitor Clare Russell that she was not considering a custodial sentence and Slaney burst into tears.
She and her 18 year old boyfriend Reese Erwin had explained why she had the knife but it was deemed not a lawful excuse.
They told the court that they had an iPod dock which had run out of batteries, and they had gone into the centre to get new batteries.
Slaney said: “There was a screw on the docking station and I took the knife to unscrew it. I should have thought about what I was doing but I was doing it for the right reasons.
“I have never tried to harm anyone, especially with a butter knife.” Slaney told the court.