A building firm boss has been jailed after failing to comply with his punishment for a cocaine-fuelled campaign of violence and intimidation against his own family and friends.
Alistair Brownie’s bizarre behaviour included flashing his penis at his own mum, decapitating a toy dog, setting fire to the entrance of a friend’s home and attacking a Range Rover with a claw hammer.
The Alford businessman, who owns construction firm Landmark Developments and Granite City Contractors, then repeatedly breached an order to stay away from his mum at her home in rural Aberdeenshire.
The 36-year-old was originally spared jail and instead handed unpaid work and supervision – but after repeatedly breaching that community order he’s been sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
Flashed his own mum
Fiscal depute Carol Gammie previously explained how Brownie turned up at his mum’s home at 6.15am on March 14 last year and began rifling through kitchen drawers.
“During this time the accused repeatedly pulled down his trousers exposing his penis and began spinning it around, to his mother’s alarm,” she said.
Brownie then began shouting and swearing about how he was going to burn his friend’s nearby home to the ground before pouring diesel over one of his mum’s decorations and leaving the property in his van.
Brownie then drove off in the direction of Linton Farmhouse, owned by family friends, where he was spotted next to the farmhouse sign which was ablaze, and with a jerry can of fuel in his van footwell.
While he was there his mum noticed he had used her axe to decapitate a dog toy before sticking the blade into the garden.
Brownie was traced at home and after resisting arrest spent the night in the cells before being given special bail conditions not to contact his mum.
Took hammer to mum’s car
But less than a day later he made numerous calls and texts to her before taking a taxi to her home armed with a hammer and damaging her Range Rover.
His frightening behaviour got him another night in the cells.
But just six days later he was pestering his family again, this time demanding £21 and hurling an ornament through the window.
This time Brownie was arrested and remanded in custody at HMP Grampian, from where he appeared in court via videolink to admit nine charges.
These included multiple threatening and abusive behaviour offences, wilful fire-raising, resisting arrest, domestic abuse, culpable and reckless conduct and bail and curfew breaches.
Back behind bars after order breach
Almost a year on, he reappeared in court in handcuffs once again having repeatedly failed to engage with his community payback order and drug testing requirements.
Brownie’s defence agent Agne Balnionyte said his last four weeks on remand had “strangely improved his mental health”.
“That’s because he has stopped using illicit substances,” she said.
“He has been to see the prison doctor and has been put on anti-depressants and he says his mental health has improved significantly.
“He has also been going to the gym and playing football on a daily basis. He has carried out a victim awareness course in prison too.
‘He is determined to make it work this time’
“The main issue the court will have is what will happen if he is released. He tells me he will continue to abstain from illicit substances.
“He now realises the impact that has on him and others including his friends and family and employees of his business.”
She added that the father-of-one’s business would be in jeopardy if he were to be jailed and that he’d be happy to be drug tested in the community.
“He is determined to make it work this time,” she added.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin failed to be convinced, however.
She told Brownie: “You have been given a lot of opportunities to comply with this order. I am afraid the background report doesn’t give me any confidence that if I impose a community-based disposal this outcome will be any different.”
His original order being revoked, she jailed Brownie, a prison of HMP Grampian, for 18 months.
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