A Moray man who cut the brake cables of a car he incorrectly thought belonged to a paedophile has escaped a prison sentence.
Callum Stewart, 25, had been warned jail was on the cards after he admitted tampering with the innocent man’s Dacia Duster that was parked outside a property in Mosstodloch.
Stewart’s defence lawyer Grant Daglish told Sheriff Gary Aitken that it was ” an act fuelled by alcohol and stupidity” but his client was addressing his drinking.
Sheriff Aitken previously told him: “This is borderline attempted murder.”
Fiscal depute Alison Young previously told the court that the Dacia owner had parked his car at his mother’s house before getting a bus to an event.
Car’s owner not a paedophile
She added that on June 18 2023 Stewart, of Speymouth Drive, Mosstodloch, had been drinking with a friend, who told him that a paedophile lived in the street.
“He pointed out the address and Stewart went up to the property. CCTV filmed him and his DNA was found on the car,” Mrs Young said.
“When the owner returned to pick up his car, when he switched it on, the alarm sounded that there was a fault with the brakes. The car was driveable but if he had taken it out, it would not have been able to stop.
“The owner is not a paedophile. The accused got the wrong house and the wrong car.”
When traced by police and arrested, Stewart denied carrying out the crime.
‘Your actions were beyond reprehensible’
Sheriff Aitken, who had deferred sentence until December 24 for a background report. told Stewart: “As you hopefully realise, I can barely believe how ill-advised this was.
“You intentionally left your home with tools to cut the brake pipes of someone’s car. It was a completely random stranger’s car instead.
“There is not much I can do about your stupidity but I can do something about your drinking.
It is only because you are doing something about it that I am considering something other than a custodial sentence.
“Your actions were beyond reprehensible. This could have had catastrophic consequences.”
Stewart was sentenced to the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay his victim £450 to compensate him for the insurance excess he had to pay to get the vehicle repaired.