A Dunbeg woman has been told to get her affairs in order after she was found guilty of kicking her neighbour unconscious with a bottle of wine.
Pauline Johnston, 62, told Oban Sheriff Court she was fighting with her neighbour on April 17 2023 and inadvertently hit her victim on the head with the bottle.
But Sheriff Euan Cameron said he did not believe Johnston’s version of events, and found her guilty of two charges: assault to injury and breaking her bail conditions by shouting at her neighbour.
Victim was knocked unconscious after being hit by a bottle
During a trial on Monday, the victim, who was knocked unconscious in the attack, told the court that Johnston had stolen a bottle of wine from her home.
She decided to go to Johnston’s door and confront her.
She said: “My next door neighbour had come into my house and stolen a bottle of wine.
“Pauline lives next door. When I came home, my front door was locked, but I had mistakenly not locked the back door.
“It was not the first time she had come into the house. I went to question her on why she had taken it. I was on the phone to a friend at the time.”
Johnston then struck the woman with an empty bottle of wine.
She continued: “I was struck on the left temple of the head. She knocked me out. I was lying on the floor.”
Victim said she had ‘had enough’
The complainer was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was treated for a gash to her head. She also had a black eye.
The woman continued: “I had a scan. After a few hours, I was discharged that night. I was swollen and had a black eye.”
On May 28 2023, while Johnston was on bail, threats were made to the same neighbour, including that she would “kill” her.
The woman said: “I literally had had enough, honestly, it was awful.”
Defence lawyer Kevin McGuinness suggested that it was the complainer and not Johnston who had caused serious harm.
He shared four photos to the court of injuries said to have been sustained by Johnston during the incident.
Mr McGuinness said: “You were in a rage. You reached and grabbed Pauline Johnston on the chest.”
The complainer answered: “Are you suggesting I did that to her? Absolutely not.
“It never happened, I never touched Pauline Johnston.
“I couldn’t do that to anyone – it is ridiculous.”
Mr McGuinness said: “Your evidence that you became unconscious is also a lie. It is a smokescreen for your own appalling behaviour.”
Dad discovered his daughter lying on floor of Dunbeg home
A second witness – the complainer’s father – told the court he arrived at Johnston’s house to discover his daughter unconscious on the floor.
He said: “I got a phone call to tell me that my daughter had possibly been assaulted. Blood was coming from the front of her head.
“Pauline was standing in her living room. She was very agitated.”
He described a “scuffle” between Pauline and another woman, who had been on the phone to the complainer at the time of the incident.
After hearing the events over the phone, she came to her house.
The second witness continued: “I took my daughter to her home.”
Emergency services then arrived at the scene.
Attacker claims victim started it
Police officers described “lots of blood” at the scene, and blood-stained towels that had been put into the washing machine.
One officer said Johnston was “apologising a lot”.
He continued: “She was repetitive with speech, and it was slurred. Johnston didn’t make a lot of sense.”
Giving evidence, Johnston claimed that the complainer had jumped on top of her while she was sitting watching TV in her home.
She said: “I was trying to get up and she was hitting me.
“I was hit with a bottle of wine. They were all inflicted when I was sitting on the couch.
“I told her I didn’t take the bottle of wine. She went into another rage.
“We both had the bottle, and I obviously lost my grip because I have arthritis, and I let go, and it hit her in the eye.
“She fell back onto the floor. I phoned 999 and said it was an emergency.”
Sheriff Euan Cameron told Johnston, whose address was given as care of Lochnell Road: “I found your account utterly fanciful and contradicted what the police told the court.
‘This is a brutal and nasty attack’
“I clearly believe you were not telling the truth, and I didn’t believe your account.
“I did not consider you to be a truthful witness. On the other hand, the complainer was utterly compelling, as was her horror of being accused of attacking you.”
He called Johnston “cowardly”, saying it was “good fortune” that the complainer was not injured further.
He said: “This was a brutal and nasty attack.”
After finding Johnston guilty, her previous convictions were outlined in court.
Sheriff Cameron continued: “You have a history of violence. In 2008, you were sentenced to two years in prison, in 2012, you were convicted of assault and given a direct alternative to custody.
“You have passed the custody threshold and then some.
“You have been convicted of a nasty assault on your neighbour, which could have been much worse.
“It is my opinion that this offence is serious enough to justify custody, and I will call for reports.”
He adding: “There is a possibility you will be given a custodial sentence, and you must put your affairs in order in your private life.”
The case will be called again in July for sentencing, and a non-harassment order will also be considered.
Have you signed up for our Oban and Hebrides newsletter?
Every week our Oban-based reporter Louise Glen curates the best news in the area.
Sign up here for local news straight to your inbox. And if you’d like to join the conversation on West Coast Chat on Facebook, we’d love to hear from you.