An attempt to return a faulty TV without proof of purchase prompted a threat to burn down a charity shop.
James Copeland, of Old Steading Road, Inverness, went into the British Heart Foundation premises in the city’s Union Street on July 6 last year with the set.
But he couldn’t produce a receipt when he asked a member of staff to take it back.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard yesterday that this refusal led to an angry outburst by the 56-year-old and he threatened to burn down the store.
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Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood said Copeland left but returned 30 minutes later again seeking to return the TV.
But when his request was rejected for a second time, he began shouting at the shop manager and claimed: “I have done 10 years for attempted murder.”
However Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood was told by defence solicitor Alison Foggo that her client was “prone to exaggeration”.
She added: “He has an unenviable record but nothing at that level. At the time of the offence, his medication was erratic and irritability was a side effect. He is now stabilised.”
Copeland admitted behaving in a threatening manner and was ordered to carry out 70 hours of unpaid community work.