INVERNESS SHERIFF COURT: Mother jailed for string of offences

A woman is trying to beat her alcohol and drug dependency while she is serving a prison sentence after telling her lawyer: “I hate it.”

Mother-of-two Lorraine Beavis (38), previously of St Margaret’s Road, Inverness appeared by video link at Inverness Sheriff Court on a series of disorder offences, some of which had already been dealt with by the imposition of community payback orders.

But since Beavis is in jail, they can’t continue and Sheriff Ian Cruickshank revoked them without imposing any further punishment.

However, he jailed her for seven months on six new offences which she admitted and for which sentence had been deferred for a background report.

The court heard that on April 1, Beavis stole £5.15 worth of cider, cupcakes and Red Bull from the Co-op in Church Street.

On June 20, Beavis acted in a threatening and abusive manner towards a man she had visited in his home in Friar’s Street, throwing a tumbler at him but missing. He phoned the police, officers arrived and during the arrest she kicked one of them on the lower leg without causing injury.

Then on September 7, she assaulted a man in Church Street, pushed him and threw a bit of a broken bottle at him. When police arrived and arrested her, she abused them and made various threats towards them including: “You are dead.”

The court heard that as Beavis was being searched in the cell she pinched the hand of one officer, causing a slight graze.

Defence solicitor Duncan Henderson said: “When she is sober, she is a pleasant person. But she has slid into illicit substance and alcohol abuse. She tells me: ‘I am sorry. I am ashamed and I hate it.’

“When she is free from drink and drugs, she can lead a law-abiding life. And she is addressing her alcohol and drug issues while she is in prison.”