The owner of an Aberdeenshire Airbnb property underwent a terrifying ordeal when a rowdy guest at a cocaine-fuelled party pulled a knife on her.
Scott Banks was part of a group of five people who had rented the croft near Gardenstown and had been asked to leave when their rowdy antics became too much for the female owner.
She turned up at the door at midnight to tell them to pack their stuff and go but instead was met with a barrage of abuse and threats.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that an argument broke out and Banks pulled a knife.
His solicitor claimed that at one point a gun was pointed at Banks’ girlfriend – an allegation the Airbnb owner strongly denies and said was “just more of his lies”.
Owner claims group ‘absolutely trashed the place’
Speaking after the case, the Airbnb’s owner – who does not want to be named – described Banks behaviour as “disgusting”.
She said: “He gatecrashed and shouldn’t have been there. They absolutely trashed the place and were fighting and that is why they were asked to leave.
“I asked them to go and they refused and thankfully I had some guys working on my place who spoke to them.
“He behaved like an absolute idiot then he pulled a knife out on me and claimed that someone here had a gun.
“There was no gun present, but there definitely was a knife being wielded around in my face.”
The owner then called the police and Banks was arrested and charged.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of behaving in manner that would cause fear or alarm, brandishing a knife and making threats of violence and of being in possession of cocaine.
The 25-year-old, described as “an ad-hoc offshore worker” who has a previous conviction for selling cocaine, was also on bail at the time.
‘A disastrous trip’
Defence agent Liam McAllister described last year’s June 10 holiday to Gardenstown as a “disastrous trip”.
He told the court that his client “accepts that he made a foolish decision to have final blowout with some friends at a very rural location”, adding that Bank’s had purchased a £20 bag of cocaine.
Mr McAllister said: “Things had been going fine and they didn’t feel they were being too rowdy, but the next thing they knew the owners of the property came up.
“It was dark, they were in a van, and one of the men approached them saying they were now being asked to leave in the middle of the night.
“They pointed a gun in the face of Mr Banks’ partner and things escalated from there, to say the very least.
“Mr Banks accepts that he had been making threats and such like and that he was brandishing a knife in anger and a little bit of fear.
“He knows he could have dealt with the situation in a far more mature way.”
Mr McAllister added that “with the help of his family” Banks had recently made efforts to turn his life around.
Sheriff hands accused high fine due to ‘threats to stab someone’
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told Banks: “Given that you have made genuine efforts to leave your life of offending behind and it does appear that you are able to get employment.
“It seems to me the most appropriate way of dealing with this is by the imposition of a financial penalty, but a reasonably high fine given that there were threats to stab someone made.”
She fined Banks, of Lewis Road, Aberdeen, £730.
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