A man has avoided a prison sentence after he terrified his 76-year-old dad by pulling two large kitchen knives on him.
Mark Murray appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted threatening the pensioner.
The 48-year-old had been drinking, but was also on cocaine, and pulled out two black-handled kitchen knives from a drawer.
Murray’s father managed to escape by hitting his son on the head and fleeing the property.
Fiscal depute Alan Townsend told the court that on April 8 this year Murray’s father returned home to his house in Kemnay to find his son his son had been drinking.
Mark Murray ‘became erratic’
He challenged Murray on it and accused him of being drunk.
“The accused became erratic and picked up two black-handled kitchen knives and brandished them, refusing to relinquish them,” Mr Townsend said.
“His father then struck the accused to the back of the head and fled from the locus.”
Murray pleaded guilty to one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Defence solicitor Ian McGregor told the court that his client has had “past issues with controlled substances”.
“There’s no suggestion that he intended to use the knives in any sinister fashion,” Mr McGregior said.
‘This whole incident is a matter of deep regret’
“Mr Murray had been consuming alcohol and had been using cocaine that evening.
“He acknowledges that he may still have some issues that he needs to address and has expressed genuine remorse.
“This whole incident is a matter of deep regret for him.”
Sheriff Philip Mann told Murray that the offence he carried out was “bordering on the threshold of a custodial sentence”.
“It’s a serious offence as it involves knives and who knows what would have happened if you had taken steps to use those knives.”
As an alternative to a custodial sentence, Sheriff Mann made Murray, of Rosebank, Oldmeldrum, to a community payback order with supervision for two years and ordered him to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
He also fined Murray a total of £600.
