A man has been ordered to stay away from his former partner after he threatened to set his dog on her.
James Smith appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted making a series of threats towards his ex at a playpark in the Northfield area of Aberdeen.
It was stated that the 40-year-old made intimidating remarks towards the woman and said he would return with his dog and command it to bite her.
He also threatened to get a female friend to “smash her face in”.
Smith – who has a previous conviction for threatening the same woman – was warned by Sheriff David Harvie that he would end up in prison if his behaviour continued.
Accused shouted and swore at ex
Fiscal depute Maliya Ngalam told the court that the couple had been in a relationship for a number of years but that it had ended in August 2022.
She said that on April 27 last year, the woman was in a playpark with her child and her mother near Marchburn Drive, Aberdeen, when she saw Smith coming towards her.
“He was shouting and swearing as he entered the play area,” Ms Ngalam said.
The woman saw Smith approach her, and as she stood up, he immediately began to verbally berate her.
Smith shouted “Joanne, come and smash her face in” before stating that he would “set his dog” on her.
Hearing this, the woman shouted to her mum to contact the police, and Smith turned and walked away but continued to shout and swear at the woman as he left.
In the dock, Smith pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and making threats of violence.
‘You need to address these issues’
Defence solicitor Jenny Logan told the court that Smith had a background of mental health issues and “accepts that how he acted on this occasion was aggressive”.
“He is in no doubt that it was unacceptable, but there had been issues between him and his former partner for some time,” the solicitor said.
“Mr Smith is content to take responsibility for this – he needs to get away from this kind of behaviour and reduce his offending.”
Sheriff Harvie told Smith that he had considered making him subject to a domestic abuse programme but stated that his offences for violence “don’t appear to be just related to your former partner”.
He added: “If there are any more incidents of violence then you will find yourself in custody – you need to address these issues.”
Sheriff Harvie made Smith, of Brighton Court, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 108 hours of unpaid work.
He also put a non-harassment order in place, meaning Smith cannot approach his former partner for a year.
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