Thug brandished broken bottle at man sitting in car during Grangemouth robbery

Appearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court last Thursday, Robbie Barker, 24, had pleaded guilty to a number of offences, including assaulting a man in Claret Road, Grangemouth on December 22, 2022.

The charges stated Barker opened the door of a car, demand property from a man, smashed a glass bottle and brandished it at him, removed the key from the ignition, demand the man’s mobile phone and then ran the broken bottle along his arm, damaging his jacket before robbing him of his mobile phone.

At an earlier appearance Barker was placed on a restriction of liberty order and a supervised community payback order for two years with the conduct requirement to undergo substance abuse counselling.

However, last Thursday the court heard he had breached his orders, failing to engage with his supervision and failing to engage with Change Grow Live.

Simon Hutchison, defence solicitor, said: “It’s basically a failure to attend all the appointments he should have attended. Custody will be at the forefront of the court’s mind and he knows that.

"He had a big fall out with his mother and she kicked him out of the house because was drunk in the house with friends. She has now taken him back. He is struggling and is drinking too much alcohol.

"He was given a chance to avoid custody and mucked it up. It’s likely he will be remanded for his report and he doesn’t mind that.”

Sheriff Maryam Labaki said: “This is incredibly disappointing. You were given a full range of supportive measures as an alternative to custody in relation to a very serious matter and you have found yourself breaching it.

"You really are sending the court a message.”

Sheriff Labaki called for an up to date criminal justice social work report on Barker, address still listed as Low Moss Prison, and remanded him in custody until February 1.