A “childish” man has been ordered to shell out nearly £5,000 in compensation after using a slingshot to fire ball-bearings “willy-nilly” at communities across the north-east.
Jason Mirren previously admitted nine charges of vandalism and one of assault to injury – after firing ball bearings from a car.
The 22-year-old travelled around Ellon, Oldmeldrum, Cruden Bay and Boddam hitting windows and, on one occasion, a woman, leaving her injured.
Mirren has now appeared back in the dock to be sentenced.
The damage cost £4,525 to fix
Fiscal depute Sean Ambrose told Aberdeen Sheriff Court damage to the windows varied from a small hole in the outer pane, to completely shattering and repair costs ranged from £150 to as high as £2,500 for a large window at CPR Health and Fitness in The Square, Ellon.
The total cost of the damage came to £4,525.
‘Extremely sharp pain’
A woman was also struck by one of the ball bearings while out for a walk.
Mr Ambrose said: “At 12.30pm on October 15, the witness was walking on Station Road in Ellon.
“As she was walking, she suddenly felt an extremely sharp pain to her inner right thigh and felt something ping off her leg.
“She did not believe this to be a stone chip from a passing car. However, she could not think of any other reasonable explanation.
“Her right inner thigh started to bruise considerably, causing her a great amount of pain.
“She did not seek medical attention and did not contact police at the time.
“She contacted police on October 22 due to the fact she had seen numerous reports circulating on social media about windows being damaged by ball bearings.”
Charges
Mirren, whose address was given in court papers as Turner Street, Keith, previously pled guilty to wilfully or recklessly damaging windows by propelling ball bearings at them on addresses in Boddam, Stirling Village in Peterhead and Hacklaw Place in Cruden Bay.
The charges also involved another address in Smiddyhill in Udny, Commercial Road in Oldmeldrum, Craighall Lodge in Ellon, Hatton, and The Square in Ellon.
He also admitted assaulting the woman with the ball bearing.
All the offences happened on October 15.
‘Foolish and childish’
Defence agent Tony Burgess said: “Despite being 22 years of age, I think, reading between the lines of the social work report, sitting before the court is a young man who finds it difficult to fit in socially and endeavours to win favour from people by doing things as ridiculous as he did this day.”
Mr Burgess described his client’s actions with the slingshot as “foolish and childish”.
He said Mirren had fired off ball bearings “willy-nilly”.
He said Mirren had initially been aiming at trees and road signs but “allowed himself to continue in built up areas where it must have been obvious property could have been damaged and, indeed, people injured as it turned out”.
Mr Burgess went on: “He is showing a degree of maturity that is perhaps indicative of someone who genuinely realises they can’t continue in the way they were.”
‘Catalogue of damage to people’s property’
Sheriff Ian Duguid QC told Mirren: “I will refrain from sending you to jail for this offence, which is a long catalogue of damage to people’s property with significant value or repair, and in one instance a physical injury to an innocent bystander.
“These are matters that ordinarily would justify me sending you to jail, but I’ll refrain from doing so.”
The sheriff ordered Mirren to pay compensation totalling £4,525 in relation to the window repairs, with a further £175 to go to the woman struck by a ball bearing.
He also imposed a year’s supervision and 180 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to a custodial sentence.
One of the properties hit by Mirren was at Craighall Lodge in Ellon, where Gavin Elphinstone, 28, and Claire Henry, 30, live with their six-month-old son and two older children.
Gavin previously said he hoped Mirren would receive help to become a better person, rather than be thrown in prison.
He said: “Maybe with social work’s help, they might be able to find out why he was doing it. The social work might be able to get to the bottom of it and they might be able to talk some sense into him.
“I’m not one for getting somebody punished. It’s more getting him to realise his actions.
“We’ve got a justice system for a reason, so use it. Hopefully, they can make him a better person.”