Drugged up Bo’ness offender kicked doors, challenged tenants to fight and fell down stairs

An offender flying high on a cocktail of gin and prescription pills proved to be a menace on many levels at a block of flats.

Shaun Mason (28) burst into the common close and started kicking doors on the ground floor, challenging people to fight. When a resident confronted him, he staggered upstairs and started kicking a door on the first floor, before falling back downstairs and beginning the process again.

Mason was spotted carrying a knife by the first floor resident.

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He eventually left the close – withouth the knife – and made life difficult for shopkeeper – who was forced to chuck Mason out of his store and then lock himself inside.

Mason appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court yesterday having pled guilty to behaving in a threatening manner in Gilburn Place, Bo’ness, on June 1, 2019.

Procurator fiscal depute Collette Fallon said: “It was 6.45am when the witness heard banging from outside – the accused was kicking his front door and shouting ‘let’s go then’. The witness opened the door to his flat and told the accused to leave and then locked his door.

“The accused then went upstairs in the close and started kicking another door. The resident looked out of their peephole and saw the accused holding a knife – hitting it against metal railings.

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“The accused then appears to have fallen downstairs and then begun kicking the door he had originally been kicking.”

Mason left the close and barged into a nearby shop which had just been opened.

“The accused shouted ‘Who are you looking at?’ at the shopkeeper, who ushered him out of the shop and locked the door with himself and another customer inside as they were fearful of the accused.”

The court heard Mason, who had downed five pints of gin after taking prescription diazepam, had no recollection of the offences but was ashamed of his behaviour.

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Sheriff Derek Livingston said: “You are going to continue to have problems if you take alcohol with prescribed drugs. There is no doubt at all you were outr of control.”

Mason, 20 Grangemouth Road, Bo’ness, was placed on a supervised community payback order for 15 months and told to complete 180 hours unpaid work within six months and told to pay £150 compensation to each of the complainers in the case – a total of £600 at rate of £20 per fortnight.