A Moray father of four with another child on the way was jailed yesterday after a drink driving rampage ended in him issuing death threats to police constables.
Anthony McPhee, of 56 Den Crescent, Keith, admitted threatening two police officers, twice failing to provide breath samples while drunk, resisting arrest, driving without insurance or a valid licence and crashing into a wall and three parked cars in his hometown on July 6.
The court heard that the owners of two cars in Balloch Road, Keith, heard a loud bang in the early hours of that day.
Both witnesses looked out of their windows to see an unfamiliar car then went out to find considerable damage to three parked vehicles.
The man responsible, McPhee, abandoned the rogue car and ran off.
And when officers eventually tracked him down to a car park beside 134 Den Crescent the 29-year-old’s behaviour turned aggressive.
Fiscal depute Kevin Corrins said: “The accused takes up a boxing stance. He then said he would assault and kill the officers.
“The police say something to the effect of ‘behave yourself’, but he doesn’t desist and they had to use CS spray in an attempt to detain him.”
Mr Corrins told the court that, with some difficulty, the two officers managed to get handcuffs onto McPhee, who later accepted at Elgin Police Station that he had driven the vehicle under the influence of alcohol and had collided with the vehicles.
McPhee’s solicitor, Brent Lockie, said his client had turned to “excessive” drink during a difficult period of his life and took the “foolish” decision to drive home.
He appealed to Sheriff Ian Anderson to give the labourer “one last chance” in the form of a community payback order (CPO) as an alternative to custody.
The court heard McPhee has four sons aged 11 and under and is currently expecting a daughter with his pregnant partner – and that sending him to prison would have a detrimental effect on his family.
However, Sheriff Anderson said McPhee’s behaviour towards the police, the “seriousness of the matter” and his history of failing to comply with CPO demands meant jail was the “appropriate disposal”.
He was sentenced to eight months in prison and disqualified from driving for 16 months.