Man jailed for two years for putting knife to taxi driver's throat in robbery

A former merchant seaman and offshore worker who held a knife at a taxi driver’s throat and robbed him of £40 has been jailed for two years.

Lee Donnachie had struggled with heroin addiction all his adult life and in another incident last year armed police were called to his home in Mackay Road in Inverness when he told social workers he had a gun and was going to shoot himself.

Last month he had a drug treatment testing order revoked by the court for failing to comply.

Depute fiscal Stella Swan told Inverenss Sheriff Court that Donnachie had returned home in a taxi from the city centre with two of his three children on August 4, 2013.

The children got out of the taxi with Donnachie who then returned with a knife with an eight inch blade.

"He held it at the taxi driver’s throat and told him he needed money. The taxi driver gave him two £20 notes," said Ms Swan, "and he was allowed to drive away."

The matter was then reported to the police.

In another incident on October 20, last year, Ms Swan said court social workers had visited Donnachie when he told them he was feeling suicidal and had purchased a gun ‘and he was going to blow his head off’.

She said: "The social workers in a state of fear left and contacted the police,"

Donnachie, (35), admitted assaulting the taxi driver by holding a knife to his throat on August 4 and robbing him of £40.

He also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and telling the housing support workers from New Start Inverness that he had a gun and was going to use it to harm himself on October 20, 2014.

Mr Rory Gowans, defence solicitor, said in March 2014 Donnachie was placed on a DTTO but that was revoked in February of this year.

"He has a long history of heroin addiction affecting his adult life. He was in the merchant navy and worked offshore and managed to combat his addiction to gain useful employment."

Mr Gowans said he fully accepted the accused’s conduct was reprehensible and he accepted he would be going to prison and had hopes of getting work back in the offshore industry on his release.

His behaviour in front of the social workers he said was so he could be placed in custody because of the stress he was under at the time.

Mr Gowans had told the court at a previous hearing that Donnachie was in a accommodation that was too big for him and his debts were spiralling. He never had any access to a gun.

Sheriff Charlotte Coutts jailed Donnachie today (Thursday) for two years for assaulting and robbing the taxi driver and he was admonished on the other offence.

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