Boozed-up row over telly with partner gets him jailed

A man who slapped his partner in a drunken bust up over a TV programme has been jailed.

James McIntyre (58) appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday (August 2) charged with assault and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

McIntyre, from Falkirk, had been at his partner, Catherine Fisher’s home in Newhouse, Stirling on July 6 this year when the incident occurred.

Fiscal depute Laura Knox said:“At 6pm the complainer and the accused were at her home watching TV. She made reference to a TV show called Fantastic Beasts. This caused the accused to become angry and she no longer wanted to listen to him.

“He slapped the complainer on the left hand side of her face and pushed her off the couch and on to the floor. She got back up and the accused pushed her down again.”

She asked him to leave but there were no buses at this time. She went to bed and McIntyre slept in the living room.

At 5am McIntyre began to watch television and drank alcohol until around noon on July 7.

The victim then apologised for upsetting McIntyre the previous night and he began shouting again, saying:“Phone the cops. Phone the pigs.”He then overturned the living room table, smashing two glasses.

Once again Ms Fisher became scared and asked McIntyre to leave but he refused.

Mrs Knox added:“She felt that events may escalate and called the police.

“Police attended a short time later and observed the overturned table and the broken glass.”

He was then arrested and when interviewed he said:“I’m sorry, I love her.”

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson said:“You have a record of serious violence in the past, albeit of a slightly different nature, but it involves a partner. The only appropriate sentence is a custodial one.”

McIntyre was jailed for seven months.