Businessman will have to wait to hear his fate after delay

A Perthshire businessman, convicted of attacking three of his then partners during a 13year reign of terror, will have to wait a further month to discover his fate.

Forty-one-year-old operations manager Jamie Doak, of Ruthven Street, Auchterarder, was to have been sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court on October 10.

But the social work department have been given further time to prepare a background report and he will return to court for sentence on November 10.

The accused, who claimed he had “never raised his hands to any woman,” was convicted following a sheriff and jury trial at the end of August.

But more serious historic charges against him of abducting one of them and harassing a second were found not proven.

The jury of 10 men and five women took more than four hours to reach their verdicts.

He was found guilty of assaulting Julie Mailer at a house in Garth Terrace, Auchterarder, and during a car journey between Blackford and Auchterarder on various occasions between June 3, 2001, and August 10, 2005.

He seized her on the body and pushed and pulled her about, all to her injury, pushed her head against the car window on one occasion and on another threw a TV set towards her.

He also repeatedly pushed and seized Joanna Perret on the body on various occasions between October 7, 2006, and January 31, 2008, August 10, 2005, at the Dunning Hotel and at a flat in St NInian’s Court, Heathcote Road, Crieff, all to her injury He again attacked the same female at the same house in Heathcote Road on January 5 or 6, 2008, by pushing and pulling her about and throwing her to the ground, to her injury.

But part of the charge which alleged that he abducted her, unplugged all the phones in the house and refused to allow her to leave was deleted.

Doak also struck Joanna Chac with household items and seized her by the body on various occasions between September 1, 2008, and May 31, 2014, at properties in Heathcote Road, Crieff, Glenorchil Place, Auchterarder, and four different houses in Blackford.

But an allegation that he grabbed her by the neck and on one occasion pushed her against a wall and restricted her breathing was deleted.

Part-way through the trial, following legal submissions from defence lawyer David Holmes, the sheriff ruled there was “no case to answer” to a charge of abducting Ms Chac by refusing to allow her to leave flats in Crieff and Blackford on various occasions between March 28, 2008, and September 11, 2012.

It had been alleged that he locked the doors and left her without keys.

Charges of abducting Ms Chac at a house in Moray Street, Blackford, on one occasion between September 1 and 30, 2012, and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by repeatedly telephoning her and loitering outside her home between December 13, 2010, and April 18, 2015, were both found not proven.

Doak, who is a welder to trade, had his bail continued meantime. A Perth man caught with cocaine in a city centre close had a Community Payback Order imposed at the sheriff court.

Thirty-four-year-old Konrad Kujalowicz was also fined £450 - and ordered to pay £100 compensation - for damaging a wall tile at a sports shop on the St Catherine’s Retail Park.

The court was told that the accused, of Newhouse Road, was caught with a small amount of the Class A drug just off the High Street on May 7 this year.

On July 10, he was then seen acting suspiciously in the Sports Direct outlet about 6.15pm.

He was taken to a storeroom in the premises but locked himself in a staff toilet area.

Employees then heard the accused “banging and shouting” and the police were called.

They discovered a three-inch hole in one of the tiles and the bill for repairing it was put at £100.

Solicitor David Holmes told the court: “He realises the way forward is not to involve himself in drugs.”

Kujalowicz, who admitted both charges, will have to complete 60 hours of unpaid work within the next three months.

The fine and compensation will be paid at £10 a week, starting next month. A Good Samaritan managed to stop a drunken camper intent on going for an early morning drive from a site near Perth.

Thirty-eight-year-old Allan Henderson, who was almost four times over the limit, had travelled just a few yards before his keys were taken from him.

But Christopher McBride was repaid for his public-spirited actions when the accused rounded on him and unleashed a tirade of abuse, Perth Sheriff Court was told.

The police were called to Newmill Farm, Stanley, shortly before 3am and it led to Henderson being fined a total of £525.

He was also disqualified from driving for three years after admitting a previous conviction for a similar offence in 2010.

He pled guilty to struggling with Mr McBride at the farm on July 1 and then shouting and swearing at him.

He was also found to have 85 microgrammes of alcohol on his breath - well in excess of the 22 microgramme limit.

Depute fiscal Michael Sweeney said the accused had been socialising with others who had arrived at the camp site earlier.

About 2am he was heard to say: “Let’s go out in the car - let’s go for a drive.”

Other campers heard the sound of a car engine revving and saw Henderson in the vehicle.

Mr McBridge managed to get the car keys after a struggle but the accused continued to shout and swear at him.

When officers arrived at 2.50am, the accused told them: “I just jumped into my car - I’m allowed to. It’s private property.”

Solicitor Cheryl McKnight said her client had been travelling north with his girlfriend and stopped off at the Stanley camp site for a night.

“He doesn’t recall saying he wanted to go for a drive but accepts he was in the vehicle,” she explained.

He had gone into his car for a smoke, had switched on the ignition and turned on the radio.

He had then decided to move the vehicle just a few yards as he was blocked in by another car.

“He had no intention to drive off,” maintained the lawyer.

“He had simply been reversing. He thought it was private property but that wasn’t the case.”

Imposing the fine and ban, Sheriff William Wood told him: “You were clearly ill-advised to get into the car.

“People were only trying to protect you and others on the camp site.”

Henderson, of Dundas Street, Lochgelly, will pay the fine at £20 a fortnight. A Perth man was left counting the cost of bad mouthing his partner — and then criticising her cooking — when he was fined £800 at the Sheriff Court this week.

Twenty-five-year-old Euan Patterson, of Friar Street, went into the kitchen of her flat and “berated her for cooking his dinner wrong,” the court heard.

But he was unaware the woman had her phone on loudspeaker.

The accused’s derogatory comments were heard by her sister - and the incident was later reported to the police.

Patterson admitted shouting and swearing and calling his partner names at the flat between March 20 and April 11 this year.

Part of the charge which alleged that he threatened her with violence was deleted.

Sentence had been deferred until this week to allow a “cooling off ” period to take place.

The court was told that the complainer had her phone on loudspeaker while she was cooking for herself and the accused.

He shouted and swore at her - but the abusive comments were overheard.

Solicitor Linda Clark said the couple were still together and she had attended court.

The accused, who is an engineer, had himself sought psychiatric assistance.

Imposing the fine, payable at £100 a week, Sheriff William Wood said he was “surprised” the relationship had continued, given the way he had treated her. A Perth man who took part in a second head butt attack on a clubber at a local nightspot was warned he was“walking a very thin line.”

But Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said he was prepared to impose a Community Payback Order as a direct alternative to jail.

Thirty-five-year-old Mark Alexander, of Bracken Brae, will have to complete the 220 hours of unpaid work within six months - and he will also be supervised for the next nine months.

In addition, he has been barred from The Loft for two years.

Noting he had a previous assault conviction “not that long ago,” Sheriff Foulis warned him: “If you are convicted of any offence in the near or immediate future, you will almost certainly lose your liberty.”

Alexander admitted head butting Philip Todd in the South Street premises on March 12 this year.

Depute fiscal Carol Whyte said the victim had been out with friends when “words were exchanged” between the pair shortly before 1am.

“The accused then head butted Mr Todd, striking him in the face.

“They both struggled with each other but door stewards arrived and quickly split them them up.”

The victim suffered reddening and bruising to his face.

Solicitor David Holmes said there were two other men present, along with his client’s ex-partner.

“He thought things were going to get out of hand - and struck first.”

Imposing the order, Sheriff Foulis said one of the factors he had taken into account was the accused’s family situation.

Alexander had 140 hours of unpaid work imposed at the Perth court on April 25 last year after an unprovoked attack on a clubber who had been celebrating his 30th birthday in the former Zoo Nightclub in Canal Street. A pensioner with two previous drink-related driving offences was caught behind the wheel on the A9 while more than five times the lega l alcohol limit.

Sixty-eight-year-old Margaret Kerr, who was pushed into Perth Sheriff Court in a wheelchair, had decided not to take her medication for a painful knee condition because it made her feel drowsy.

Instead, she started drinking whisky to help ease the “excruciating pain.”

The court was told police received a tip-off about a car parked on the inside lane of the A9 shortly after 9pm.

Officers found the vehicle near to Layby 43, close to Killiecrankie.

Its side and tail lights were on and the engine was running.

“The position of the vehicle meant that oncoming traffic would require to swerve to avoid colliding with the accused’s vehicle,” explained depute fiscal Carol Whyte.

“When the accused was spoken to, she told officers she believed she was parked within the layby.

“She was helped out of her vehicle and provided a positive roadside breath sample.”

Later tests provided a lower reading of 117 microgrammes of alcohol - the maximum allowed is 22.

When cautioned and charged, she told police: “I was under duress because of the pain in my left knee.”

She was fined £4000 and disqualified from driving for five years after pleading guilty to the offence which took place on the southbound carriageway of the notorious road on September 3 this year.

She will also have to resit the extended driving test before she can get back on the road again.

“It seems to me that from a road safety point of view, given your age and the period you will be off the road, your capabilities to drive after the disqualification will require to be tested.”

Solicitor David Holmes explained that because of her incapacity, her husband would normally drive but she was on her own on that occasion.

She hadn’t taken any painkillers because they made her drowsy but decided to “drink whisky” at Dalwhinnie.

She had also stopped and consumed more whisky as she proceeded south.

She recognised there had been “a problem” with alcohol earlier and had sought help in 2015.

She was now awaiting an operation for a replacement knee.

Kerr, of of Belford Road, Edinburgh, will pay the fine at the rate of £250 a month.

The accused has a previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol from October, 1996, when she was disqualified for a year.

Then, in June, 2010, she had 10 penalty points added to her licence for being in charge of a vehicle while over the legal drink limit.

He realises the way forward is not to involve himself in drugs