A Peterhead man has been locked up again after he turned his temper on Citizens Advice staff when they would not hand over free food.
Darren Warchol was found guilty of behaving in an aggressive manner following a short trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Thursday.
The 34-year-old, who did not give evidence himself, will now spend six months behind bars after women in the port’s Citizens Advice branch found themselves the target of his ire.
Court staff heard how Warchol swore and held his mobile phone in their faces to capture video footage on January 17 this year.
‘You don’t get one just for asking’
It came as Citizens Advice tried to explain how the system for distributing food parcels had changed and he would not be given one for simply asking.
Tracy Copeland, who works within the branch, was the first to give evidence during Warchol’s trial.
Under examination from fiscal depute Jane Spark, during which CCTV footage of the incident was shown, Ms Copeland said he “puffed himself up” after demanding the food.
He then began to narrate events to himself as they unfolded while filming.
Ms Copeland said: “Before we could even get the sentence finished, he got quite aggressive.
“He told us just to get the f****** email sent to the foodbank.
“He had the camera quite close to my face.
Staff left scared and nervous
“I said he could film me if he liked, but we were asking him to leave.
“He was saying on camera ‘so you’re refusing to give me a food parcel then?'”
Addressing another employee, Emma McCrave, he asked her “what the f*** are you growling at?”
“I thought he was really close to assaulting her,” Ms Copeland added.
In her evidence, Ms McCrave said the incident made her feel “scared and nervous”.
She said: “He wanted us, I think, to be intimidated.”
Warchol eventually left the premises when police were contacted.
Context no reason for behaviour
His defence agent, Neil McRobert, asked the court to take into account the circumstances of the interaction and that Warchol was filming as a means of gathering evidence to form a complaint against Citizens Advice.
Sheriff Craig Findlater dismissed that.
“In my view, in this case, Mr Warchol has behaved in a threatening manner,” he said.
“It was not reasonable behaviour.”
Before the sheriff jailed him for six months, Warchol – of Leask Avenue – was offered the opportunity to engage with social workers for a background report before being sentenced.
Sheriff Findlated said Warchol’s record of short custodial sentences was “slightly surprising”.
Through his agent, Warchol declined.
His sentence will be backdated to the date of his arrest on January 20.
Warchol has a history of court appearances.
In May 2023, he reportedly danced after attacking a female prison guard.