A balaclava-wearing thug who turned up at a woman’s Dundee home threatening to petrol bomb it and “re-arrange her face” has been given a 16-month jail sentence.
Ryan McLaughlin was with two other masked men when he arrived at the woman’s house on February 27 last year.
Two days later, he appeared in court and started shouting abuse and making “gun” gestures towards a group of people in the public gallery, including the same woman.
In the weeks before, he failed on eight occasions to comply with a bail condition to report to police headquarters in West Bell Street by noon every Wednesday.
The 25-year-old appeared for sentencing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link to prison after earlier pleading guilty to two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and breaching bail.
Jailed
Defence lawyer James Laverty said McLaughlin is already serving an 18-month prison sentence with an earliest release date of March 25 and asked the court to deal with him in a way that “does not interfere” with this liberation date.
The solicitor said McLaughlin advises he has “learned his lesson” and has made use of his time in prison in relation to resolving mental health issues.
The lawyer said: “For these reasons I would ask to mark the serious nature of the offences but look at a way which would allow him to be released on March 25”.
Sheriff Robert More gave McLaughlin a 16-month jail sentence, backdated to February 29 when he was remanded.
Petrol bomb threats
Prosecutor Jamie Hilland told the court previously McLaughlin and the woman had been in a short-term relationship previously.
At around 8.45am on February 27 she was at home with a young child when McLaughlin turned up with two other men.
“They were all wearing balaclavas.
“The accused was shouting and kicking the front door.
“He was shouting that she should let him in so that he could ‘re-arrange her face’.
“He also threatened to ‘come back tonight to kick her door in’.
“The men threatened to petrol bomb her house.”
The woman phoned police and, while on the call, McLaughlin could be heard ranting in the background.
A neighbour started filming the men and they made off in a white Range Rover.
Officers arrived within a few minutes and while speaking to the woman, she answered a call from McLaughlin, shouting and swearing at her.
The Range Rover, with McLaughlin inside, was stopped later that day in Cumbria.
Court threats
The court heard that while cells at Dundee Sheriff Court on February 29, McLaughlin became involved in a “heated argument” with a female prisoner, ending with him calling her a “black b****”.
McLaughlin was escorted into the court room and his former partner was sitting in the front row of the public gallery with others.
It was a private hearing but members of the public had not yet been cleared from the courtroom.
McLaughlin became angry and shouted they should not be in court and accused them of threatening his mother.
He called them “rats” and “prostitutes” and threatened to “burn” and “kill” them, the fiscal said.
He seemed to be trying to move towards the group and had to be pulled back by Geo-Amey officers.
The fiscal added: “On two or three occasions he made a ‘gun’ gesture with his finger towards the group.
“The public were cleared from the court. Even after (the woman) left, the accused continued screaming.”
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
