Window smashing yob sent to prison

Man also threatened and abused shop staff

A yob followed people home after being involved in an argument with them and smashed the windows of their Cambusbarron home.

Thomas McCartney had admitted a charge of wilfully damaging property at an address in Underwood Road on April 14 this year.

The row had occurred outside the Forrester’s Arms pub.

Fiscal depute Lindsey Brooks explained there had been an altercation between the accused and witnesses at 5.30pm that Saturday following an earlier meeting which ended in disagreement.

McCartney followed the people home. The witnesses, said Ms Brooks, were in the living room when they heard a smashing sound.

When they went to investigate they saw two broken windows. The accused was seen to make off from the property and police were contacted.

Twenty-nine-year-old McCartney also admitted three further charges of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner.

He had shouted threats of violence towards two females in St Ninians on April 15 this year; made threats of violence towards two members of staff at McColls in Bannockburn Road on April 26, and threatened a member of staff at the Weaver Row, Lidl, on the same date.

Ms Brooks told the court that he had told one of the women in the St Ninians incident: ‘Yer maw’s a junkie. I’m going to get my missus on you.’ He also shouted and swore and made threats to ‘pan windows in.’

The McColls incident occurred at 5.30am on April 26. When McCartney was told he was barred from the shop he became aggressive.

He was asked to leave and did so, but returned and started banging on the window with an umbrella.

The witness, said Ms Brooks, summoned another member of staff and McCartney left, before returning and approaching the witness again, stating: ‘I’ll brick your windows’ and ‘I’ll brick your face.’

McCartney had also entered the Weaver Row Lidl at 2.40pm that day following an earlier incident there around noon.

He headed for the meat section and was acting suspiciously, said Ms Brooks.

McCartney told a member of staff: ‘I’ll stab you in the face.’ He also shouted and swore.

Defence agent Virgil Crawford told Sheriff William Gibson that McCartney had been experiencing difficulties in his life and had been drinking too much and “taking drugs he shouldn’t have been taking” which “clearly affected his behaviour.”

Mr Crawford explained that McCartney had broken the windows of the Cambusbarron house with his fists.

His behaviour in the St Ninians incident, said the lawyer, was a result of derogatory comments being made towards him suggesting he was “a junkie.”

And both shop offences had occurred while McCartney was “intoxicated through drink, drugs or both” which “clearly affected his judgement and behaviour.”

Sheriff William Gilchrist noted there are a number of court matters outstanding – one complaint with five charges.

He added: “There is a co-accused on that complaint which involves theft of a bank card, theft of jacket and theft of plant pot.”

As he was no stranger to the courts, McCartney was well aware that Sheriff Gilchrist would be considering a custodial sentence on the complaint before the court, Mr Crawford said.

McCartney had found it difficult to control his anger and behaviour when under the influence of illicit substances and there was “focus for work to be done with him in the context of supervision.”

He asked Sheriff Gilchrist to deal with the matter with a community payback order and unpaid work.

But Sheriff Gilchrist told McCartney he had “a deplorable record” and the charges before the court were serious ones and custody was therefore inevitable.

McCartney was sentenced to ten and a half months imprisonment. The term comprised four and a half months for smashing the windows – and six months in cumulo on the three charges of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner. The terms were to run consecutively.