Here are five stories you may have missed from Wick Sheriff Court this week.
1) Teen swallowed cannabis resin as officers got set to search him
A teenage drugs suspect, about to be searched by the police, got rid of the potential evidence by swallowing it.
Attempts by concerned officers to recover the substance failed but the Highland teen, who can not be named for legal reasons, subsequently admitted it was cannabis resin, Wick Sheriff Court was told yesterday.
The 17-year-old pleaded guilty to obstructing the police and will be sentenced on August 18.
The offence occurred after police officers on patrol encountered a group of young people in a parked car on the Wick industrial estate on April 27 and observed them with equipment involved in the use of drugs.
Fiscal Fraser Matheson said that each of them was searched and when the accused’s turn approached, he was seen to reach into his tracksuit pocket and withdraw a small amount of a brown substance which he put into his mouth and swallowed.
The fiscal added: “The accused was regarded as someone “at a high degree of risk” as the officers could not be sure what he had taken, until he subsequently informed them.”
Sheriff Andrew Berry will consider a background report on the teenager when he returns to court.
2) Driver crashed after reaching for cigarette packet
A driver lost control when he reached for a packet of cigarettes in the well of the vehicle and collided with a parked car.
Kalin Wilkinson, 20, was leaving Wick on April 30 to return to his unit at Faslane when the accident occurred.
The navyman’s momentary lapse in concentration occurred in the town’s Francis Street, the town’s sheriff court heard yesterday.
Wilkinson, from Halkirk, admitted driving carelessly. A first offender, he was fined £200 and incurred three penalty points.
3) Highland man chased another with piece of metal
A north court heard what happened when Paul Cannop called on a Thurso resident he hoped would supply him with drugs.
When told he wasn’t welcome and asked to leave, Cannop, 23, who had been drinking, punched the householder, Wick Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
A scuffle ensued in Thurso’s Ormlie Road, and then the householder ran away. Cannop picked up a piece of metal and pursued him.
Fiscal Fraser Matheson said that there was a struggle and Cannop dropped the metal.
The fiscal added: “There was no suggestion that he had used it”.
Cannop, of Holborn Avenue, Thurso, admitted a charge of assault which occurred on April 28.
Sheriff Andrew Berry expressed concern that, three days after he had allowed Cannop to carry out unpaid community work, for possession of cannabis resin, the accused had gone round to a house seeking drugs.
The sheriff indicated that he had initially considered a substantial jail sentence but instead made Cannop subject to a supervision order. The accused is due to finish a current jail term on October 12.
The 18-month order will be reviewed every two weeks and Sheriff Berry warned that any breach of it could attract a custodial term exceeding eight months.
Cannop was admonished on an unrelated charge of driving without a licence in Thurso, on March 24, which he admitted.
However he was banned from driving for a year.
4) Woman claimed thousands in child tax credits – when her kids weren’t living with her
A woman claimed more £ll,249 in child tax credits to which she wasn’t entitled, Wick Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
Michelle Ross, 32, failed to advise the Department of Work and Pensions that her two children were not living with her between May 19, 2014, and March 22 last year.
Fiscal Fraser Matheson said that Ross had been advised that there was a system for repayment of the fraudulently obtained amount but he did not have any further information.
Ross of Shebster Court, Thurso, will be sentenced on August 18 after Sheriff Andrew Berry considers a background report.
5) He was caught with £67 of cannabis… And fined £400
Possession of cannabis with a value of £67 cost its owner fines totalling £400.
George Harper, 35, pleaded guilty and admitted a record when he appeared at Wick Sheriff Court yesterday.
Police, who raided his home at Nicolson Street, Wick, on March 24, recovered cannabis in both its resin and herbal forms.
Sheriff Andrew Berry indicated that a background report was necessary but changed his mind after Harper said he would prefer a fine.