A Polish man returning to his homeland for good has been warned he’ll be arrested at the airport should he ever return and his fine payments are not up to date.
Arkadiusz Gros was ordered to pay £540 and given the stark warning after he admitted seizing his now ex-partner by the neck on New Year’s Day.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard how the 37-year-old put both hands around the woman’s neck and “squeezed tightly” until she managed to fight him off during an incident at her in Miller Street, Elgin.
Fiscal depute Stuart Coleman said the pair had been in a relationship for three months until the assault on January 1 2022.
He said Gros became “verbally aggressive” towards the woman as they argued about her ex-partner.
‘Squeezed neck tightly’
“He approached her on the sofa and sat on top of her and placed both hands around her neck, squeezing tightly,” he said.
“She called for him to get off. She was crying at the time. She did manage to shove him off herself.”
Defence agent Stephen Carty, however, said: “The argument wasn’t necessarily about anybody else – rather it was over vodka and the purchase of vodka.
“He thereafter accepts he behaved exactly as indicated by the Crown.”
The solicitor said both Gros and the woman were “extremely intoxicated” at the time.
Gros intends to fly back to Poland next week due to family commitments and an unwell parent.
Mr Carty said it was not his intention to return to the UK and suggested a structured deferred sentence for 12 months would ensure the case remained “hanging over him”.
‘May well be arrested at the border’
That option was not deemed a suitable punishment, however, and Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood said: “I have a better idea – a fine with a custodial sentence alternative if not paid in time.
“If he does not pay the fine, he will likely be arrested at the border on his way back to the UK.”
Gros, whose financial position was described as “not great”, pled guilty to a domestic assault charge.
He was fined £540 and told he will be jailed if it is not paid.
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