Thug caged for hurling racist abuse at worker

Mar 26 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

A THUG who shouted racist abuse at a fast-food worker because he wouldn’t serve him has been jailed.

Darren Mason walked up to the drive-thru at McDonald’s in Almondvale Boulevard, Livingston, shortly after midnight on February 22.

At that time, the restaurant was only open to people in cars.

Mason approached the service window and started banging on it, demanding to be served.

District procurator fiscal Adrian Cottam told Linlithgow Sheriff Court: “He was told by the worker that he couldn’t be served.

“The accused then became aggressive and began shouting and swearing calling the worker, amongst other things, a black b*****d.

“Other staff heard it and a manager was called and the accused eventually moved away.”

However, Mason later came back to the main entrance and pulled on the door in an attempt to open it and continued to shout and swear.

Police were called and 22-year-old Mason was found by officers at a nearby bus stop.

Last week at the court, Mason, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the breach of the peace offence.

His solicitor, Glenn Fraser, told the court his client had taken a combination of drink and drugs and couldn’t remember much of the incident.

Mr Fraser added: “He accepted there was evidence that he had done this and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

“While he is not denying he has done this, he is surprise he has done it.

“He is from England and is aware that there can be problems when you are from another area.

“It was racist behaviour but it is not racist beliefs that he holds.”

When Sheriff Douglas Kinloch pointed out Mason had another conviction for similar racist behaviour, Mr Fraser said: “He has a drug problem and can’t remember an awful lot of what has happened to him in the past.

“He has had a fairly aimless existence in the past few years.

“He takes heroin every day and seems to be out of control and has not been able to deal with it in any meaningful way.

“It has cost him his liberty on various occasions.”

Sentencing Mason to 60 days’ imprisonment Sheriff Kinloch said: “You have criminal convictions going back five years. You are living an aimless existence.

“You are drinking too much, taking drugs and making a nuisance of yourself.

“Your solicitor feels that the best way of dealing with this is a drug treatment and testing order.

“I don’t agree that there are enough signs that you want to change your ways and you don’t have a stable address.

“You have a string of breach of the peace offences and you have to realise that even with breach of the peace if you don’t stop then there has to be a custodial sentence.”