A chef hurled a hammer at his partner after an argument in his Perth flat, then used the tool to threaten paramedics who came to his aid.
David McCutcheon launched the hammer after demanding his partner pack up and leave while they bickered about housework.
He was found inebriated and asleep in his common close the next morning and became belligerent when paramedics tried to check him.
He admitted two charges of assault at Perth Sheriff Court.
Hammer hurl
Fiscal depute Ewan Chalmers told at about 2am on March 28 2023, the couple were consuming alcohol at McCutcheon’s flat in Kinnoull Street.
“He became aggressive and accused her of not doing housework,” Mr Chalmers said.
McCutcheon grabbed the woman by the hair but she was able to free herself.
He left for an hour and returned to tell the woman he had calmed down but the argument continued.
He asked the woman to pack her bags and leave and as she was doing so, McCutcheon picked up a hammer and threw it towards her.
A neighbour heard the tool bang as it landed on the floor.
At 8.30am, a neighbour found McCutcheon lying in the common close and dialled 999.
Paramedics arrived and woke the intoxicated 22-year-old.
The witness who found him pointed out the hammer in McCutcheon’s pocket.
He became “irate” and held the hammer up in a threatening manner so police were called.
Sentencing
Currently unemployed McCutcheon’s solicitor, Bethany Downham said: “A concoction of alcohol, the argument and bundled up emotions caused him to act this way.
“He understands this is no excuse. He felt awful and terrible at how the complainer must have felt.
“He reports to me he has limited his drinking quite significantly since this offence.”
Ms Downham explained her client suffers from depression and suspects he has PTSD.
Sheriff David Hall placed the offender under supervision for two years and ordered him to complete the Caledonian Men’s Project aimed at rehabilitating domestic offenders.
As a direct alternative to imprisonment, he instructed McCutcheon to complete 85 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff said: “I note that you have now moved to Stranraer and are staying with your mother, and you are seeking help.
“If you get into trouble again, it’s going to go a whole lot worse for you.”
The court heard McCutcheon has a single previous conviction.
In 2022, he was placed under supervision after he threatened to “deck” his old boss at the Achray House Hotel in St Fillans and was later spotted wielding a meat cleaver.
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