Phone row lout told his ex he would kill her

A brute threatened he was going ‘ to kill’ his exgirlfriend after he lost his mobile phone.

Scar-faced James Kerr, 41, sparked terror for his former partner June McCormick when he vowed to smash down her door and ‘do her in’ during an early morning rampage at a flat in the town’s George Street.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard Kerr, who has a lengthy record of previous convictions including domestic violence crimes, lost the plot when he left her house without his handset.

Procurator Fiscal depute Ziad Hassan told the court: “Both parties had been staying together at the complainer’s home address.

“At around 6.15am on the date in question, the complainer had gone to the bathroom. The accused who was sleeping was awoken by this.

“When the complainer returned to the bedroom, the accused said he was leaving the flat to return to his home to go to sleep.

“He left but around five minutes later he returned and began asking the complainer about his mobile phone through the letter box.

“He stated he left it in the flat. He began shouting at the complainer through the letter box asking where his phone was.”

The court heard Ms McCormick told him she didn’t know where it was, when Kerr flipped out at her.

The prosecutor added: “He was shouting through the letter box, ‘I will kill you!’ ‘I will do you!’ ‘Give me my f****** phone!’ ‘ You f****** rat,’ ‘Where is my f****** phone?’ and ‘I will batter your door in to get my phone.’

“Police were called and when they arrived they saw the accused outside the flat shouting through the letter box.”

Kerr, of George Street in the town centre, pleaded guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner likely to cause fear and alarm in that he shouted and swore at his ex-partner Ms McCormick on July 22.

The court heard Ms McCormick asked the court for protection from Kerr with the provision of a Non- Harrassment Order ( NHO) preventing him from any contact with her.

Defence agent Gordon Ritchie said his client was admitting responsibility for the offence but added there was an “unusual” background.

He said: “This is a rather unusual situation. He has given me information about the mobile phone. He is adamant he lost his phone at the flat.

“He either left it there or it was taken from him.

“Although the phone had been used by the complainer to text his ex-partner.

“He had gone back to recover his phone, and she refused to give it to him. That was what led to the altercation.”

Sheriff David Pender said: “Albeit you have a bad record, I do not think imposing a custodial sentence would be appropriate.”

He placed Kerr on a Community Payback Order lasting 18 months comprising supervision by the local authority, ordered that he attended anger management and counselling sessions and perform 170 hours of unpaid work in nine months.

He also handed the accused a five- year NHO barring him from approaching or contacting his exgirlfriend.