Sleepy cleaner who threatened woman and dogs is jailed

AKincardine man brandished a knife and threatened to kill a woman and her dogs after their barking woke him up.

John Urbaniak threatened the woman after she had tied up her pets outside a shop near his home in the early evening.

The specialist contract cleaner had gone to bed as his job required a 4am start.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard the 57-year-old told social workers compiling a pre-sentencing report he would behave in exactly the same way if it happened again.

Fiscal depute Azrah Yousaf told the court the woman had arrived at the store at around 6pm.

She said: “She tied her dogs outside the shop, purchased her goods and then came outside, where she saw the accused shouting at her dogs, telling them to shut up.

“He went into his house and returned carrying a large kitchen knife.

“She saw him run out on to the public road, waving it at her and shouting he was going to kill her dogs and her.”

She said when police attended, Urbaniak initially tried to hide the knife but then handed it over.

Urbaniak, of Mercer Street, Kincardine, admitted brandishing a knife and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards the woman by shouting and making threats to kill on June 1.

Solicitor Elaine Buist said her client was upset by being woken and believed the incident took place later in the evening.

She said: “He believes it was more in the region of 8.30pm.

“He had to rise at 4am for work.

“His position is she goes to the shop every night and leaves the dogs tied up.

“They bark while he is trying to sleep.

“His recollection is that he did not leave the garden.

“He regrets the incident.” She added he had had his Covid injection that day and had taken the day off work, so had been drinking.

However, Sheriff James Macdonald noted a criminal justice social work report said: “He stated he would act the same way again if she returned to the shop with the dogs.”

Sentencing, he told Urbaniak: “You pled guilty to possession of a bladed weapon in a public place and threatening and abusing a member of the public with the use of that weapon – all from an incident that appears to be about nothing.

“It’s the third time in four years you have appeared in court in relation to a weapon.

“It’s nothing short of alarming that you say you would do the same thing again to the complainer,

and you have a lack of remorse.

“You made the deliberate decision to arm yourself and return to the street with a bladed weapon.

“I have no doubt the complainer would have been in fear for her life.”

He said in the interests of public protection, he had no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence.

He ordered Urbaniak to serve six months behind bars.

KNIFE: Urbaniak threatened to kill the woman and her dogs with a large kitchen knife.