A Mastrick man who brandished a large kitchen knife at his hammer-wielding neighbour has avoided a prison sentence.
Ian Cowie, 38, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted repeatedly pulling out the knife in a public place during a feud with the man.
The incident culminated in Cowie approaching the man’s vehicle in an attempt to scare him off.
Defending Cowie, his solicitor, Liam Mcallister, conceded his client had dealt with the situation “in the wrong way”.
Man brought out claw hammer from car
Fiscal depute David Ballock told the court that at about 6pm on March 18 2023, Cowie became involved in an argument with his neighbour outside his home in Mastrick that saw Cowie pull a large kitchen knife from behind his back.
The neighbour got into a Mercedes car and took a claw hammer from inside the driver’s side door, walking towards Cowie with the hammer in his hand.
The two men were seen to be goading each other into a fight while shouting and swearing at each other.
As the two men continued to size each other up, Cowie brandished the knife at his neighbour, the court was told.
Seeing the man coming, Cowie then ran into the block of flats where his flat was located, while the other male got into the Mercedes and drove it over to a patch of grass on Mastrick Road before stopping.
A short time later, Cowie exited his block of flats and approached the Mercedes, which reversed upon seeing him before changing direction and driving towards North Anderson Drive.
Cowie returned to his address briefly before appearing on his veranda clutching a large kitchen knife behind his back.
The police were called, and Cowie was arrested the following morning.
In the dock, Cowie pleaded guilty to one count of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by brandishing a knife and a second charge of being in possession of a knife in a public place without lawful authority.
He admitted an additional charge of failing to appear for a prior court hearing.
‘Reckless decisions’
Defence solicitor Liam Mcallister told the court that his client and the other man were neighbours who had been involved in a dispute.
“He has had problems with locals coming into his home and threatening to assault him,” the solicitor said.
“Due to that, his decision-making was skewed – this was an attempt to scare off those involved.
“One of those involved had armed himself with a hammer, but Mr Cowie has made a number of reckless decisions and knows this is something he dealt with in the wrong way.”
Sheriff Philip Mann told Cowie: “You do not have a bad record and fortunately for you the social work report was favourable – I’m not going to sentence you to custody today.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Mann made Cowie subject to a community payback order with supervision for 18 months and ordered him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.
He also fined Cowie, of Arnage Gardens, Aberdeen, a total of £420.
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