'˜Joker' Johnny pulled a gun on Camelon work colleague

Hall took a pistol shaped air gun into his work used it to scare another empl oyee

Self-confessed airgun enthusiast Johnny Hall (53) pulled the “prank” at family firm James Scott and Sons, Glenfuir Works, Portdownie, as other employees stood laughing.

Hall, who is now the director of his own construction firm Scotia Site Services in Alloa, was an employee with the Camelon company, which makes catering equipment for hospitals, at the time of the incident.

Falkirk Sheriff Court was told Hall had “for some reason” brought a black airgun, shaped like a hand pistol, to work with him.

Prosecutor Sarah Lumsden said: “He was showing it off to colleagues and talking about it. At about 1.30pm the complainer entered the workshop and Mr Hall picked the weapon up and pointed it.

“The complainer felt it was pointing at him and panicked, taking evasive action.”

The complainer then heard what he thought was the gun being discharged, and ran out of the workshop in fright to tell his supervisor.

The depute fiscal said: “The accused and other colleagues were laughing and joking about it.”

CCTV of the workshop area was checked, and Hall was seen putting the gun into a black case and putting the case into a locker.

Back at Falkirk Sheriff Court yesterday, Hall, of Ashley Terrace, Alloa, had pled guilty to behaving in a threatening manner at the company in Camelon on June 29 last year. He also admitted not having a licence for the airgun.

As a direct alternative to a prison sentence Sheriff Craig Caldwell placed Hall on a community payback order with the condition he complete 220 hours of unpaid work within six months.

“You are no stranger to firearms,” said Sheriff Caldwell. “And firearms form part of one of your hobbies. There’s nothing objectionable about that, but you should have known better than to produce this instrument in the way you did.”