Brora man "deeply ashamed" of violent outburst: Sheriff fines him for verbally abusing partner and damaging property
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A Brora man who verbally abused his partner, smashed a mirror and kicked a door, has been fined a total of £565.
Steven Sutherland (27), Fascally Cottages, has also been ordered to pay the woman £100 in compensation. The two are now estranged and a non harassment order preventing him from contacting her has been granted.
Sutherland appeared for sentencing at Tain Sheriff Court today, having previously admitted behaving in a manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm at an address in Victoria Drive on March 20.
Neil MacDonald, prosecuting, said Sutherland had returned home the previous night extremely intoxicated. His partner tried to persuade him to stay in bed and sleep it off, but he did not want to do so.
“He started to shout and swear at her and called her scum and a whore,” said Mr MacDonald.
“This went on for quite some time and thereafter the accused kicked a bedroom door, causing damage to a wood panel, and broke a mirror. He was repeatedly asked to leave the house but refused to do so.”
Sutherland’s partner later told police that she was not frightened of him when he was sober but was “concerned” when he consumed alcohol.
Defence agent Rory Gowans said his client had only a “vague recollection” of what happened but accepted full responsibility and was “deeply ashamed of his behaviour”.
The lawyer said that Gowans worked as a groundsman with a large construction company and was highly regarded.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Gary Aitken told Sutherland: “You have a record and this was certainly a significant offence, aggravated not only by you being on bail at the time but also by the domestic nature of it. You are close to the point a jail sentence is a real possibility. However, you are in paid employment and well thought of by your employers and you also have a positive social work report so I will deal with this by a financial penalty.
"That will ensure you can continue with your employment and, if nothing else, will put a dent in your beer money and that seems to be your principal difficulty."
