A Dundee man with a history of domestic violence has been acquitted by a jury of threatening to attack his ex-partner with a glass vodka bottle.
It was alleged Steven Donaldson’s former girlfriend, her cousin and a child locked themselves in a bathroom to escape his “frightening” behaviour.
Donaldson, 22, went on trial at Perth Sheriff Court accused of smashing a living room window at a property in Atholl Street, Dundee, and threatening to strike his ex with a bottle on September 11, 2021.
After two days of evidence, a remote jury returned a verdict of not proven.
Donaldson, listed as a prisoner at HMP Perth, admitted a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause fear or alarm, at Dundee police station on September 12.
He made a homophobic remark and spat on a Perspex screen.
Sheriff Paul Brown told him: “I have to deal with the matter that you have pled guilty to.
“You have been acquitted of the other matter.
“That means what is before me is substantially less serious than the charge you originally faced but it is nonetheless still serious.”
He said: “You are still a young man but you have accrued a significant schedule of previous convictions.
“There has been an effort to address whatever is causing this underlying behaviour.”
The sheriff released Donaldson on bail and deferred sentence for background reports until August 8.
He was ordered to stay away from his ex-girlfriend and her cousin.
The court heard that Donaldson had been remanded in custody since his arrest last September.
‘Upset and irate’
Donaldson was originally accused of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour towards his ex partner.
The charge was reduced on Monday to an allegation of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, likely to cause fear or alarm.
The trial heard police were called to the flat and saw Donaldson’s ex, his cousin and a young child coming out of a locked bathroom.
They appeared to be “upset and irate,” the trial heard.
A living room window was smashed, a police witness said.
In her closing speech, fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie told jurors: “Why would Mr Donaldson’s ex-partner go through all the effort to make a fabricated version of events?
“The relationship ended in July 2021.
“She was in a new relationship, she had moved on and had no ties to Mr Donaldson.”
The woman had told the trial she had “played down” to police an earlier alleged incident involving Donaldson.
“She accepted that she did not tell the police the truth,” said Ms Ritchie.
“It is not uncommon for victims of domestic abuse not to initially report things to police.
“Just because she did not tell police what was happening at that moment, doesn’t mean she wasn’t telling the truth in court.”
Solicitor Billy Watt, defending, described the ex-partner as “a self-confessed liar”.
He told the jury: “She openly lied to officers in the course of their duty.
“You are being asked to convict someone on the word of someone who has a flexible relationship with the truth.”
Previous offending
In March 2020, Donaldson was jailed for 18 months for attacking two former partners.
The court heard that he kicked one ex’s arm so hard that she had to have a metal plate inserted.
She had given a false account to doctors, claiming she suffered the injury while having a seizure.
The assault happened two months after he attacked another former girlfriend.
