A Peterhead man has been fined almost £3,000 after aggressively shouting at his former partner over a toddler’s trainers and then breaching bail by calling her just days later.
Jamie Cowie, 41, stood trial at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Thursday and was convicted of acting in a threatening and abusive manner towards his ex.
The court heard the oil and gas worker, who described himself as being a quality control inspector, started shouting and tried to force his way into the woman’s home when she asked him about a pair of shoes their toddler had previously worn.
‘He had no right to come through my front door’
The woman, who gave her evidence behind a protective screen blocking Cowie’s view, said the pair had been in contact on October 1 last year to arrange for their shared child to spend time with him.
Cowie would attend at about 12.30pm to pick the boy up, but he would be “set off” shortly after when she asked where a pair of new trainers the child had previously worn to Cowie’s home had gone.
“That was enough to set him off,” she told fiscal depute Kirsty Martin.
“It got very heated. He was very aggressive. That got me thinking, ‘I need to shut the door’.”
The woman told the court Cowie moved towards her while she was holding the child and that she started “screaming and swearing” for him to get off her.
She told Ms Martin she was left “shaking” by the incident and suffered bruising to her arms.
“All I did was ask where the trainers were,” she said.
“He had no right to come through my front door. He has no right to grab my son when he’s in my arms.”
‘There’s no denying it’
Cowie also gave evidence during the trial.
In his testimony, he claimed he had been punched and scratched by his ex while trying to get to his son. Despite this, he declined to make a complaint about her to the police at the time.
Cowie was also shown video footage of the day from his former partner’s doorbell camera, which captured some of the incident.
In it, he can be heard raising his voice and then calling the woman an “a***hole”.
“There’s no denying I’m a little bit angry there,” he said.
“I’m raising my voice. She was a bit irate as well, but you can’t really hear it.
“She was attacking me. There was nothing much to say about it. That’s what happened.”
Bail was breached just days later
Cowie, of Skerry Drive, was also sentenced on Thursday for breaching the conditions of his bail in the case, when on October 8, he called the woman to tell her that she would never hear his voice again.
Ms Martin said the call caused his ex to become concerned for his well-being.
Mr Jane said the calls were not meant to be a “any sort of threat” and came after he was informed he would have no further access to their shared child.
“Effectively: ‘I will not be in contact with you again’,” Mr Jane said.
“He understands, my lord, if that’s a situation he wants to change, he will need to engage a civil solicitor.”
Overseeing both cases, Sheriff Craig Findlater fined Cowie £2,075 for the incident on October 1 and another £690 for the bail breach.
He also imposed a three-year non-harassment order, which will prevent Cowie from contacting his ex unless through a third party for matters relating to their child.