Offender sent to cells for outburst in Falkirk court

Connie Stevenson (22), who had earlier been removed from the court room by a police officer due to her disruptive behaviour, had just been told she was doing reasonably well with her court orders.

Simon Hutchison, defence solicitor, said she had three months left to go of her six-month structured deferred sentence.

While she was in the dock she then started to act in a bizarre fashion – putting on her jacket hood and pulling it tight and then talking in an insolent manner to Mr Hutchison and Sheriff Christopher Shead.

When Sheriff Shead told her she was doing herself no favours acting in such a manner, Stevenson took things to another level.

Sheriff Shead said: “You seem to be doing quite well, but you have been impertinent to the court and to your solicitor.”

Stevenson, who was adamant she had not been impertinent, said: “Would you like to see me being impertinent?”

She hunched over the dock, leaning towards Sheriff Shead in a confrontational manner as she said this.

Sheriff Shead’s patience ran out and he ordered Stevenson to be taken to the cells below, for her case to call later when she had calmed down.

Stevenson had pleaded guilty at an earlier appearance to behaving in a threatening manner at Forth Valley Hospital, Larbert, on July 29 last year, yelling abuse at police officers who were trying to help her by taking her to hospital for assessment of her condition.

Stevenson (22), address listed as 118 Lumley Street, Grangemouth, was in a “distressed state” when police found her in the street, but she later became aggressive with officers and called them a “couple of beasts".

On Thursday when her case was recalled again around half-an-hour later and she was brought back up from the cells, Sheriff Shead made no finding of contempt against her and allowed Stevenson’s structured deferred sentence to continue, calling for a review on May 5.

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