A thug waved a sword above his head as he threatened to “battle” the father of his girlfriend during a fracas in Aberdeenshire.
Sean McNamara uttered the threats to James Logan as his relationship with Mr Logan’s daughter, Shannon, fell apart.
The 20-year-old was ordered to remain under supervision for a year and to perform 150 hours of unpaid work when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
Sheriff Graham Buchanan said that the weapon involved in the offence resembled “the sort of thing pirates might brandish” when he was shown an image of it.
The court heard that McNamara’s relationship with Miss Logan took a turn for the worse last March when she arrived at a friend’s house in Stonehaven to find the accused hiding in a wardrobe there.
Fiscal, Jamie Dunbar, said: “On arrival at the property, Miss Logan observed the accused’s shoes beside the front door and found him hiding within a wardrobe.
“An argument ensued, during which he pushed her to the upper body and caused her to fall against a wall.”
The fiscal added that, months later, McNamara terrified Miss Logan by threatening to kill her parents at the property they shared on Thistle Drive in Portlethen.
Mr Dunbar said: “The accused said ‘your parents are going to be gone tomorrow’, which his partner perceived to be a threat and contacted Mr Logan – who attended at the property shortly after.
“As Miss Logan gathered her belonging to leave, the accused started shouting.
“Mr Logan told the accused to shut up, but then observed him brandishing a sword above his head and while saying ‘you have already chased me into battle once before’, and ‘I will use this on you’.”
The court heard that Mr Logan left the property “fearing for his safety” and phoned the police.
McNamara, who now lives on New Road in Huntly, later admitted assaulting Miss Logan by “pushing her and causing her to strike a wall” at an address on Stonehaven’s Arduthie Gardens on March 3 last year.
He also pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards Mr Logan on July 15 by shouting, swearing and uttering threats of violence towards him “while brandishing a sword in an aggressive manner”.
Defence agent, Stuart Murray, said the accused had been “kicked between the legs” before assaulting Miss Logan in March.
Sheriff Buchanan sought clarification on the nature of the weapon before passing sentence.
He concluded that the sword was” a significant size”.
