A man who used Facebook to threaten to burn down the house of an acquaintance has been jailed for six months.
Logan Williamson had been communicating with the man, who he knew from his local area, on the social media giant’s Messenger platform.
Williamson, 22, appeared via videolink from custody at Tain Sheriff Court to admit a single charge of threatening or abusive behaviour in relation to the incident in Fleming Way, Invergordon, and elsewhere, on April 22 of last year.
Fiscal depute David Morton told the court that Williamson and his victim were known to each other.
Facebook ‘friend’ turned foe
He said the complainer had accepted a Facebook friend request from Williamson in April of last year and the two began communicating.
But the exchanges quickly turned sour, with Williamson sending a message telling the other man he had seen him in the street and was “twice the size” of him.
At around 11.30pm on April 22 last year, the fiscal depute said the man received an audio call on Messenger, during which Williamson told him: “I’ll be down in 15 minutes and burn the house down.”
It was at this point the other man contacted police.
Solicitor Alexandra Short, for Williamson, told Sheriff Gary Aitken, that her client had been in the grips of a drug habit at the time of the offending, but did not intend to commit arson.
Arson threat was empty
She said: “He does have a very bad substance abuse issue, which was going on at the time. This, together with having a history with the complainer resulted in this behaviour.
“He was never going to carry out the threats.”
Sheriff Aitken jailed Williamson, whose address was given as no fixed abode, for six months, backdated to June 30.
