A brutal boyfriend who repeatedly punched his partner in the face while seizing her phone as she tried to call for help has been jailed.
Sammy Thompson was also ordered to keep away from the woman for three years, something he branded “bulls***” as he was dragged from the dock into custody at Elgin Sheriff Court.
His victim had to “bundle herself into a ball” on the floor to protect herself as the 31-year-old father rained blows on her head, the court was told.
Fiscal depute Stuart Coleman said Thompson had attended uninvited to her Elgin home at around 11pm on April 12 this year and, after an argument, pursued her through the house and assaulted her.
Victim heard calling for help
“He screamed at her that he was sick of her and he followed her upstairs,” Mr Coleman said. “She picked up her phone to try to call the police but he took it off her to prevent her from doing so.
“He punched her several times in the head while holding her phone in his other hand.
“She bundled herself up in a ball to protect herself.”
After the assault, Thompson went to the local Boots chemist for his methadone prescription and lashed out at a member of staff there – repeatedly telling the woman to “f*** off” when she tried to lock him out due to his behaviour.
That volatile behaviour was displayed in court, where he appeared and pled guilty to assault to injury and acting in a threatening or abusive manner.
Anger problems on display
He repeatedly banged his fists on the dock as defence agent Grant Dalglish provided mitigation and explained his client was “extremely remorseful”.
The solicitor said his client “got angry” and pled guilty at the earliest opportunity.
He said Thompson does not usually appear before the court for domestically-aggravated offending.
“He has a record which does him no favours whatsoever,” Mr Dalglish added. “Substance misuse has been a problem for him.”
The court heard that after the incident in Boots, Thompson told police: “Those are nice people. I get my methadone from them. They don’t deserve that.”
Had to be dragged from dock
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood was told that the couple were “hoping to reconcile” but Thompson did initially say he would comply with a non-harassment order if need be.
But when the sheriff jailed him for six months and put that no-contact order in place for three years Thompson let his displeasure be known.
“That’s a load of s****,” he shouted from the dock. “That’s bulls***. That’s my partner of 16 years.”
After a brief struggle with security guards, Thompson, of North College Street, Elgin, was taken into custody.
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