Two Fraserburgh men who filmed themselves firing a handgun around their hometown have avoided prison.
Snapchat footage of Yanko Pishtisky and Leon Scott’s reckless actions went viral around the town last year and now the pair have appeared in court to face the consequences.
Peterhead Sheriff Court was told the pair found the imitation weapon at the beach on May 18 last year and made the “juvenile” decision to fire it.
The duo both admitted breach of the peace and possession of the imitation gun last month but sentence was deferred until this week so that background reports could be completed.
Watch the footage that got them convicted
In the Snapchat footage, Pishtisky and Scott can be seen at various stages shooting and being filmed shooting.
The court heard that their actions took place at about 3am after a night of drinking when Scott, 22, uncovered the weapon at the beach.
It had 14 blank cartridges loaded, but he was unable to tell police how many he had fired.
The weapon itself was thrown into the sea after their escapade.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllsiter also made reference to CCTV footage from the time of the event, which showed Pishtisky, 19, holding a phone up to record Scott while he shot blanks around Fraserburgh’s harbour.
Sam Milligan, Pishtisky’s defence agent, described his client’s thought process that night as “juvenile, crass stupidity”.
Lesson learned
Mr Milligan said his client, of Lochpots Road, had complied with social workers since the incident to help with the creation of their report.
“The report, my lord, indicates that he himself describes this as the worst decision that he has made in his life, and it is probably difficult to argue against that contention,” he added.
Leonard Burkinshaw, who appeared on behalf of Scott, echoed his colleague’s thoughts.
He said Scott, of Mid Street, had “basically realised his behaviour required to be amended”.
“He definitely won’t be doing anything of this sort again,” Mr Burkinshaw added.
“It has been, as I say, a learning curve for Mr Scott.”
‘Exceptionally serious matters’
As an alternative to other sentences, Sheriff Craig Findlater told both men they would now be under a curfew for the next eight months.
It will prevent either man from leaving their home addresses between the hours of 9pm and 7am.
They will also be under the supervision of the social work department for the next 18 months.
Sheriff Findlater said: “On the face of them, these are exceptionally serious matters. As it happens, they have been committed by the two of you who were a pair of drunken youths.
“That you were drunk does not in any way serve as mitigation.
“This incident and the incident and the seriousness of this incident, and the potential consequences of this incident, all seemed to have come together to teach each of you a lesson.”