Dundee man left locked up despite charges being dropped
A Dundee man has spent two weeks in prison despite prosecutors dropping the charges against him.
Max MacAskill had denied charges of theft when he appeared from custody on 6 August, after which he was locked up for trial later this month.
On 20 August, prosecutors wrote to Dundee Sheriff Court saying there was to be no further action against him.
The court only discovered the 25-year-old had not been released when he was brought up from cells on Monday.
Mr MacAskill had been remanded in custody accused of stealing games console controllers from a branch of Game in Dundee's Murraygate, a charge he denied.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, Sheriff Alistair Duff asked why the case was being called when it had been dropped two weeks before.
It was then that Mr MacAskill was brought up the stairs from the cells, handcuffed to a G4S security guard
Sheriff Duff said: "The letter from the Crown says that following a review it has been decided there will be no further action.
"It says you have cancelled his bail order - but he is remanded in custody. That letter was written on August 20.
"So he has been in custody since then, even though the case has been dropped."
Fiscal depute Emma Stewart said: "I have no explanation as to why this has happened."