Eight months for man who had metal pole up his sleeve

A man found guilty of trying to enter a house where he was not welcome, and having an item in his possession which could have been used as a weapon, was sent to prison after a trial at Lerwick Sheriff Court yesterday.

The court heard that Jamie Neill, 40, of Sandveien, Lerwick, had tried to “barge” his way into the house of his cousin, also in Sandveien.

According to the cousin and the cousin’s partner, Neill had tried to enter the house three times in succession. They said he was intoxicated and behaving in a threatening manner. He made the exuse of wanting to look for his mobile phone, which was not in the house.

The cousin told Neill to go but said he refused to leave the property and was taunting the cousin to come out and fight.

The cousin’s partner called 999 and police arrested Neill, who by that time said he was walking to his grandmother’s house in Sandveien, at 2.28am on 12th December.

He was found to have a metal pole secreted in his sleeve. He said he had seen something lying on the road which he thought he could use on his bike as a handlebar. Even though the pole was black, Neill said it was “glinting”.

He said he secreted the item because police knew his record and they would “assume things”. He denied he was on his way back to cause problems for his cousin.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie said Neill’s explanation about the item was “absurd” and said it was reasonable to assume he was going to use it as a weapon, given that an altercation had occurred.

Sheriff Philip Mann agreed, and sentenced Neill to eight months imprisonment, backdated to 14th December when he was taken into custody.