A 35-year-old man who passed drugs to a friend sitting in the dock of Inverness Sheriff Court was jailed for six months yesterday.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald told Scott Stewart, of Assynt Road, Inverness, that she showed “flagrant disrespect” to the court by his actions.
Stewart had appeared with several other people who were in custody on October 29, 2018, including Michaela MacMillan.
As there was not enough room in the dock for him, Stewart sat on a bench normally used by court officials and social work staff alongside MacMillan.
Sheriff Macdonald heard that his not guilty plea to the charge he then faced was accepted and, when he was told to leave, he leaned over to MacMillan, gave her a hug and passed her four tablets.
But he was spotted by a security officer who was handcuffed to MacMillan, who was instructed immediately to drop her “gift.”
When the tablets were analysed, only two were found to be Xanax, a class C controlled drug.
Stewart was then arrested and charged with being concerned in the supply of drugs. He previously admitted the offence and sentence was deferred for a background report.
Defence solicitor Willie Young said: “He had developed a dependency on a similar drug which had been prescribed to him and he has not recollection of the offence. He had taken Xanax himself before court.
“He felt he was doing his friend a favour but recognises it was disrespectful to the court.”
Sheriff Macdonald told Stewart that although he had never served a period of imprisonment, there was no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence because of the gravity of the offence and where it took place.