A GREENOCK man has been charged with poking a knife towards people through his letterbox. Hallidi Omar, 34, is also said to have shouted, swore and threatened two women and a man during the alleged incident. Prosecutors say Omar later acted aggressively towards a second man whilst in possession of a pole. The alleged offences are said to have been committed within a common close on Trafalgar Street on January 24. Omar, who is currently remanded in custody, is also accused of breaching a bail condition to stay away from a named woman and failing to provide his name and other details to police.
Greenock Sheriff Court A TORCHING threat accused is said to have thrown flammable liquid onto a man s face and terrorised him with a lighter. Sean McAuley, 23, is said to have lay in wait for the alleged victim to finish work in Port Glasgow before attacking him. Prosecutors say McAuley directed the man to kneel on the ground and repeatedly tried to ignite a lighter after splashing accelerant onto his face and clothing. He says the allegation is false and has lodged a special defence of alibi at Greenock Sheriff Court. The Crown says that McAuley was acting with another person whose identity is meantime unknown at the time of the alleged incident.
A PENSIONER was pursued and assaulted by a would-be robber on a Greenock east end street, it is alleged. The elderly lady, 75, was targeted from behind by accused Graeme Anderson in the east end of the town according to prosecutors. Anderson, 57, is said to have grabbed the OAP and placed his hand over her mouth before allegedly threatening her with violence. He is facing an indictment charge at the sheriff court over the claimed attempt to rob the woman of her money on Fairrie Street. Anderson, of Bawhirley Road, did not attend a pre-trial calling of the case because of serious illness.
A CONVICTED knifeman who left a Greenock couple fighting for life following a brutal blade attack has been given a fresh two-year prison sentence for a string of attempted armed robberies. Andrew Mulholland, 28, targeted the USave convenience store on Belville Street and nearby New Best Cellar off-sales shop on East Crawford Street within the space of 15 minutes in desperate bids to feed his drug addiction. He armed himself with a screwdriver before demanding cash and a mobile phone in the raids that he carried out three months before stabbing victims Finlay McIntyre, 53, and Karen Branwhite, 39. Greenock Sheriff Court heard how Mulholland first walked in to USave and flashed a red-coloured screwdriver before demanding: Gimme forty quid.
A SYRINGE-carrying thug who abducted a terrified woman and held her hostage despite the presence of police tried to blame her for the ordeal he subjected her to. Paul Harkins barricaded his flat with his screaming victim inside after officers had been alerted by a neighbour at the height of the late night incident in the east end of Greenock. But Harkins who pleaded guilty last month tried to minimise his behaviour during a pre-sentencing interview with social workers, the sheriff court was told. Sheriff Joseph Hughes noted: The writer of the background report says you partially blamed the complainer in respect of what happened to her.