
A 31-year-old man who threatened to shoot a private hire driver in the head during a "terrifying" confrontation has been sentenced to 26 months in prison.
Gary Todd was high on street Valium when he pointed an airsoft pistol, designed to look like a real American self-loading handgun, at driver Mr. Awais.
The incident began shortly after midnight on December 1, when the driver refused to allow a dog into his vehicle on Paisley Road in Renfrew.
The court heard that Todd became aggressive, shouting and swearing at the driver for rejecting the pet. During the assault, Todd brandished the gold-colored replica and made racist threats.
"You f*****g immigrants, I’m going to shoot your head," Todd told the victim, who was so afraid he could not recall every detail of the interaction.
After Todd walked away, the driver fled to a nearby hotel car park to call for help, leading police to declare a firearms emergency and seal off the road.
Armed officers eventually stormed a property at 6:40 am after Todd tried to evade capture by climbing through a window.
The replica gun was recovered from a garden patio and found to be broken.
Defence agent Kirsty McGeehan described the event as an "incident of breathtaking stupidity," noting that Todd remembered nothing of the night.
Sheriff Eoin McGinty told Todd: "This is an offence of the utmost seriousness," before handing down the jail sentence.

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