Mum walks free after kidnapping drug dealer and threatening to slit his throat
A mum who abducted, bound and gagged a suspected drug dealer and threatened to slit his throat has walked free from court.
Linda Gowers, 40, bundled Michael Graham and bound him together with duct tape after strapping him to a chair.
Ms Gowers, from Kirriemuir, Angus, was told she could have been sent to prison for what she did, but there was clear evidence Graham had been dealing drugs.
Graham had been charged with two offences - but had escaped prosecution because of delays in his case.
She told police she planned to slit Graham's throat before setting him on fire as part of a "citizen's arrest."
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Dundee Sheriff Court heard Ms Gowers thought Graham was part of a county lines drug gang targeting children (PA)Sheriff Alistair Carmichael told Ms Gowers she could walk free because he had considered "the full circumstances of the case into account."
Dundee Sheriff Court heard Ms Gowers believed Graham to be part of a county lines drug gang targeting children in Kirriemuir.
He said: "This was a course of events you feel were justified morally, but perhaps not legally, and it has led to the regretful outcome that you are now in the dock.
"It's a serious crime, but there is mitigation here. Whether you feel it was justified morally or not, your actions were certainly not legally justified.
"It is in the custodial zone because of its seriousness, but I think I can deal with it in a non-custodial way."
The court was told that Graham had downed a bottle of wine in 30 minutes and was seen sitting at a bus stop with other males at 7.31pm on 27 July 2020.
Police who drove past noticed him because of his distinctive blue hair. The court heard that a van pulled up 45 minutes later and Ms Gowers and an unknown man got out.
Ms Gowers then demanded Graham get in the van, before she and one fo the two men she was with grabbed him and dragged home into the vehicle.
Graham was taken to her address before he was forced into a black leather dining chair.
Ms Gowers used duct tape to cover his head, face and arms and accused him of selling drugs to a child which he denied. The court was told a child had become unwell sniffing an envelope soaked in drugs.
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A few minutes later Gowers called police and told officers: "Can you get to my address please, quickly before I kill him? I'm going to kill him."
She gave police her name and address and, when asked who she was holding hostage, she said she knew his name was Michael and he was a drug dealer.
"I know his name is Michael and he's up here from Newcastle and selling f*****g LSD and drugs to kids, little bairns," she told police.
Officers arrived to find Graham bound and gagged to a chair and he duct tape around him meant he was unable to speak.
When he was untied, Graham attempted to escape the house, and told Ms Gowers that he was going to "get" her.
Gowers told police: "If youse had been doing your jobs I wouldn't have had to do this. You're lucky you got here when you did or he'd be dead.
"I was going to slit his throat. I was going to set him on fire. It should have been youse picking him up off the street - not left to me to go and get him.
"I was doing your job for you. I was cleaning the streets up. This prick sold acid to a child then came back up from England to sell more drugs to children.
"It wasn't abduction, it was a citizen's arrest," she said, although she later admitted abducting Graham in Kirriemuir.
Solicitor Brian Bell, defending, told the court: "I understand a police report was submitted regarding the complainer, but it was time-barred.
"Effectively, the complainer in this case - despite there being clear evidence of him being involved in the distribution of drugs - for whatever reason, he walks free."
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