A north-east man demanded police arrest him because he was going to kill his wife – because she was “annoying” him.
Ryan Delasio-Watt dialled 999 and insisted he was “away to murder his wife” and “I just need picked up now”.
He refused to give his name to the concerned call handler but did reveal his wife’s address in Rosehearty, so officers rushed to the scene on June 27, this year.
Police found the 49-year-old drunk outside the home still insisting he would kill her if they didn’t arrest him.
“She is annoying me,” he told officers.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllister told Peterhead Sheriff Court: “Police found him standing outside.
“He approached their vehicle when it arrived and he told officers his wife was annoying him and that he was going to murder her.
“He then got inside the vehicle that had parked up and sat in the back seat. He again reported to officers that he was going to murder his wife so officers stopped him from getting out of the car.”
Locked out because he was drunk
His wife, meanwhile, was none-the-wiser to the furore going on outside her home.
“They spoke to his wife and it transpired that she was unaware of the threats made. She had locked him out due to how drunk he was,” the fiscal added.
Watt’s defence solicitor Marianne Milligan said the run-up to the incident involved her client missing a bus.
“He stupidly decided to call the police and made the stupid comments,” she told the court. “He has apologised to all concerned. He has got issues with alcohol.”
Watt had previously pled guilty to a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour and sentencing was previously deferred for background reports.
Handed supervision and curfew
Having now read those, Sheriff Robert McDonald said police were right to take his threats seriously.
He said: “Irrespective of whether your wife was aware, it is still a serious matter to threaten to kill anyone and the police were quite right to take that seriously.”
He handed Watt, who gave his address as St Andrew’s Drive, Fraserburgh, a 145-day curfew and ordered he be under supervision for one year.
He also put a non-harassment order in place for three years which means Watt must not contact his wife.
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