A man poured paint stripper through the letterbox of a home and inadvertently poisoned his victims’ pet dog.
Robert Mullen flung the toxic liquid over and inside the Aberdeen home resulting in the family pet needing vet treatment after digesting the chemicals.
The 25-year-old carried out the vandalism at a house on Buckie Avenue after he’d “reached the end of his tether” over an unpaid debt, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
Fiscal depute Victoria Kerr said the attack on the couple’s Bridge of Don home and their red Renault Clio took place on the morning on of September 6 2019.
‘Their son owed a type of debt’
“The accused was a former friend of the son,” she said. “They believe their son owed a type of debt to the accused.”
When the pair left for work all was normal but when they returned they found the windscreen wipers of their car bent up and a “clear liquid-type substance” thrown over the door, doorsteps, garage and through the letterbox.
“It has a strong chemical smell, similar to paint stripper,” the fiscal added. “When the complainer entered the house she noted it had been poured through the letterbox and was dripping down the door inside and out and onto the door mat.”
The couple had to pay more than £215 to clean up the immediate aftermath and hundreds more to repaint their home.
The family pet, meantime, vomited for two days and required veterinary treatment after ingesting the toxin.
Mullen was snared by DNA left on the car and property and charged by police around eight months later.
He pled guilty to a charge of malicious mischief. His not-guilty plea to threatening or abusive behaviour was accepted by the Crown.
‘He was at the end of his tether’
Defence agent Liam Mcallister said his client had been “in a bad place with substance misuse” which caused him to “offend quite prolifically” at that time.
“He was lashing out at those who had formerly been friends of his,” the solicitor added. “He was owed money by the individual.
“It cost him a great deal of difficulty being out of pocket.
“Money was tight and he didn’t deal with that in a way that was appropriate. At the end of his tether, he behaved in the way described.”
The court heard that Mullen has since reduced his substance misuse and become a keen and promising boxer.
Mullen, currently serving a 13-month sentence at HMP Grampian after being jailed for a threatening or abusive behaviour charge last month, appeared from custody in the dock.
Sheriff Ian Wallace handed him a six-month jail sentence to run alongside his ongoing one, meaning his earliest release date of May 2023 is not affected.
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