Nwicker60
30-Apr-15, 14:57
Man who has drug and mental health problems might not be fit to drive suggests Wick sheriff
A WICK man, jailed for possession of a knuckleduster in a Wick street, late at night, is also to be reported to vehicle licensing authority, the DVLA.
Sheriff Andrew Berry added the unusual footnote to the nine-month sentence on the grounds that David Stubbings was a heavy cannabis user who also had mental health problems and took the view that he was someone who, perhaps, should not be driving.
Stubbings, 45, holds a current driving licence but does not own a car at present. He was caught in possession of the knuckleduster, described by the sheriff as having "only one use", in Battery Road, Wick, on September 19 last year.
The accused, who has a record, had been out walking and began acting "in a furtive manner", in an alley, after spotting the police on patrol. Officers observed him trying to dispose of something - it turned out to be the knuckleduster - on the ground.
David Barclay, prosecuting, told Wick Sheriff Court,today, that, initially, Stubbings denied dropping anything but it was raining and the knuckleduster had not had a chance to get wet. His DNA on the weapon, clinched his guilt and in court, he admitted possessing it.
Sheriff Berry told Stubbings, whose home is 53 Murchison Street, Wick: "Carrying offensive weapons in this part of the world is happily uncommon and must be treated seriously by the courts. It is an offence that almost inevitably attracts a custodial sentence."
The sheriff instructed sheriff clerk Jan McEwan to write, "in the public interest" to the DVLA with an issue he suggested the driving authoirty would be concerned about.
The sheriff added: "It may be that he Stubbings is someone who should not be driving" and suggested that the accused's heavy use of cannabis might have contributed to he mental health issue.
Stubbings jail term was backdated to April 17 when he was remanded.
A WICK man, jailed for possession of a knuckleduster in a Wick street, late at night, is also to be reported to vehicle licensing authority, the DVLA.
Sheriff Andrew Berry added the unusual footnote to the nine-month sentence on the grounds that David Stubbings was a heavy cannabis user who also had mental health problems and took the view that he was someone who, perhaps, should not be driving.
Stubbings, 45, holds a current driving licence but does not own a car at present. He was caught in possession of the knuckleduster, described by the sheriff as having "only one use", in Battery Road, Wick, on September 19 last year.
The accused, who has a record, had been out walking and began acting "in a furtive manner", in an alley, after spotting the police on patrol. Officers observed him trying to dispose of something - it turned out to be the knuckleduster - on the ground.
David Barclay, prosecuting, told Wick Sheriff Court,today, that, initially, Stubbings denied dropping anything but it was raining and the knuckleduster had not had a chance to get wet. His DNA on the weapon, clinched his guilt and in court, he admitted possessing it.
Sheriff Berry told Stubbings, whose home is 53 Murchison Street, Wick: "Carrying offensive weapons in this part of the world is happily uncommon and must be treated seriously by the courts. It is an offence that almost inevitably attracts a custodial sentence."
The sheriff instructed sheriff clerk Jan McEwan to write, "in the public interest" to the DVLA with an issue he suggested the driving authoirty would be concerned about.
The sheriff added: "It may be that he Stubbings is someone who should not be driving" and suggested that the accused's heavy use of cannabis might have contributed to he mental health issue.
Stubbings jail term was backdated to April 17 when he was remanded.