A vigilante mother who abducted, bound and gagged a suspected drug dealer has been shown mercy by a sheriff after claiming it was a citizen's arrest. Linda Gowers was told she could have been sent to prison for bundling Michael Graham into a van before strapping him to a chair and binding him with duct tape.
But Sheriff Alistair Carmichael told Gowers that he was prepared to let her walk free because he had taken "the full circumstances of the case into account." 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."
He placed Gowers under social work supervision for 18 months as a direct alternative to prison. Dundee Sheriff Court heard Gowers took direct action against Mr Graham over fears that he was part of a county lines drug gang targeting children in Kirriemuir.
Gowers, 40, from Kirriemuir, Angus, told police she planned to slit Graham's throat before setting him on fire as part of a "citizen's arrest." The court was told there was clear evidence Graham had been dealing drugs - and had been charged with two offences - but had escaped prosecution because of delays in his case.
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 Gowers and an unknown man got out. Gowers demanded he get in the van, before she and one of the two men she was with grabbed him by the arms and dragged him into the van.
He was taken to her address in Westfield, Kirriemuir, before being forced from the van and told to get in the house and sit down on a black leather dining chair. 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. 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****** LSD and drugs to kids, little bairns," she told police.
Graham was in distress and could be heard shouting for help in the background as the call was made. When police turned up, Gowers was in her garden to meet them and they went inside to find Graham still bound and gagged and taped to a chair.
He had black duct tape around his upper body, shoulders, mouth and head, including over his eyes. He was completely immobilised and unable to speak. Officers cut Graham free and he immediately became angry and said he would "get" Gowers, before he tried to escape from the property.
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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