A prolific thief who had been handed community service has been jailed after getting arrested again on a separate matter.
Ian Gray appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted to threatening workers after being ordered to leave a number of shops in Aberdeen.
The 41-year-old told a female bookmaker he would wait for her to finish her shift and “cut her head off”.
He also warned a Scotmid worker he would “slash” her face with a fork if he saw her in the street, the court previously.
Both women – as well as a male security guard at Union Square – were left shaken by Gray’s threats to harm them.
Gray, who suffers from a longstanding drug problem, has numerous previous convictions for assault and robbery.
He had earlier been handed a community payback order but was remanded on a separate matter, which meant a reassessment of his current order.
A sheriff chose to jail Gray due to his long record of previous offending.
Ian Gray threatened worker while holding fork
Fiscal depute Claire Stewart told the court that at around 3.25pm on May 2 this year, Gray was spotted in the Scotmid store on Union Street by a staff member.
“The witness was aware that the accused was barred from the store and so asked him to leave,” she said.
“She also noticed that he was holding a fork and he began gesturing with it.
“The accused then became annoyed and said to her: ‘See when I see you out on the street? I’m going to slash your face.’
“The woman was left shaken by this incident and genuinely he may slash her with the fork.”
On another occasion on May 30 this year, Gray entered Ladbrokes on Guild Street and was again asked to leave due to being banned from the premises.
Ms Stewart said Gray then stated: “I’ll wait for you tonight. I have a blade. I’ll cut your head off. I slice people.”
The court also heard about an incident at Union Square shopping centre on June 5 this year where a security guard was asked to remove Gray from the complex.
As he did so, Gray shouted and swore at the guard, which left him “intimidated”, Ms Laird said.
Gray, of West North Street, Aberdeen, pleaded guilty to three charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
His defence solicitor, Debbie Wilson, told the court that Gray suffers from psychological problems and was hoping that an alternative to a custodial sentence would help her client “to make progress” with that.
“He gets frustrated with his mental health condition and maybe if he gets an alternative to prison then there’s a chance for assessment,” she said.
“I think it’s better for him and I think it’s more sensible for the court.”
However, Sheriff Kevin Duffy disagreed due to Gray’s record of convictions for similar offences.
“This is an unfortunate situation, to say the least,” he told Gray.
“A community payback order was imposed previously as an alternative to custody and then you find yourself in custody on another matter.
“Obviously, that’s a radical change of circumstances.”
Sheriff Duffy sentenced Gray to six months in prison.
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