Scots wheelie bin killer caught with £20k drugs farm given shorter curfew to walk puppy at night

A convicted killer has dodged jail after being caught with a £20,000 cannabis farm and has been given a shortened curfew - so he can walk his puppy.

Steven Robbins, 37, was told by a sheriff his curfew would start two hours later than normal each night to allow him to take his dog for a walk.

Solicitor Ross Donnelly, defending, told Dundee Sheriff Court: "He has a puppy he takes out for an evening walk."

Sheriff George Way said: "This is a chance to stay out of jail. Take a telling. Walk your dog, but be back by 9 o'clock. Take the dog out and be back by nine. I'm taking into account that the offence is nearly three years old, but this is still a direct alternative to custody."

Sheriff Way placed Robbins under a restriction of liberty order from 9pm to 7am each night for eight months. They are normally imposed to run from 7pm to 7am.

Robbins previously told the court he was growing cannabis to try and raise money to fund a move away from the vengeful associates of his victim.

Robbins claimed he was being persecuted by people who knew DJ Ryan Barrie and felt he had to move away from Dundee for his own safety.

He was sentenced to just 20 months in January 2021 after he admitted killing Mr Barrie, 39, by launching a wheelie bin at him during a heated row.

In today's case Robbins, admitted having cannabis with intent to supply it at City Road, Dundee, on 31 May 2021.

Fiscal depute Lynn Mannion told the court: "He has previous convictions, including for violence and culpable homicide at the High Court.

"Police received information and got a search warrant. On 31 May 2021 rapid forced entry was made. A cannabis cultivation was found and the accused was arrested and taken into custody. He admitted growing the cannabis to sell for £5,000 to fund a move to Nottingham for him and his father, who is now deceased.

"The cannabis was grown as a one-time operation, to sell to one person, to fund this move. In total, 63 plants were recovered. Around 35 were immature and had no intrinsic value. The remaining plants had a potential yield value of £21,000."

Mr Donnelly told the court: "It is a very complicated back story. He has experienced trauma, much of it arisen from the aftermath of the High Court conviction.

"The intention of raising this money was partly to get away from those who knew the deceased person in that case as they had made life extremely uncomfortable for him.

"There is a fairly complicated picture here for the court to put it in context. The court could perhaps view it a little more leniently than usual.

"Drug misuse has sadly become a feature of his life as a mechanism for coping. He is seeking assistance to overcome these obstacles."

Sheriff Way noted Robbins has a previous drug cultivation conviction and said: "He just sets out to do it all again."

In December 2020, the High Court in Edinburgh heard how Robbins attacked and shoved Mr Barrie before striking him with the bin in Benvie Gardens, Dundee, in March that year.

The killer got into a row with Mr Barrie when he returned home from a drunken night out and was being "noisy" in the street.

Mr Barrie fell and hit his head on a wooden fence beam after he was viciously attacked by Robbins. He was taken inside his home and fell asleep, but later stopped breathing.

Unemployed Robbins was initially charged with murder, but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to culpable homicide.

Advocate depute Leanne Cross said: "He was intoxicated and generally noisy. The deceased got out of bed and went to his bedroom window.

"He entered a heated exchange with the accused. They were shouting at each other for several minutes. It is not known exactly what was shouted but they seemed to be challenging each other.

"The accused pushed the deceased to the shoulders with both hands. The deceased stumbled back a bit and both men started throwing punches at each other.

"The accused repeatedly punched the deceased to the head and body. As the deceased started to walk away, the accused approached him and pushed him into a bush in the front garden of a neighbouring property," she said.

Robbins got on top of his victim and punched him to the head. The prosecutor said: "The deceased didn't fight back during this part of the incident and was heard to say to the accused 'What are you punching us for, I'm no wanting to fight you'.”

Robbins' defence counsel Mark Stewart KC said: "He wishes he had simply walked away when this encounter began."

Mr Stewart said Robbins regularly thought of the consequences of the incident and felt "great sympathy and compassion" for the deceased's family.

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