A Lochaber man who admitted sending text and online messages threatening to murder his ex-partner’s male friend was today ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work.
Fort William Sheriff Court heard that the messages Edward Gall sent to his former partner and her friend included “Mate, I’m going to do time in jail for you. I’m going to stab you to death” and “tell him he’s getting a baseball bat around his head”.
The 31-year-old, of 9 Camaghael Road, Caol, Fort William, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to repeatedly sending grossly offensive or indecent, obscene and menacing messages to Shauna Macdonald and John Keenan by text and on a social networking website.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause fear or alarm by entering Miss Macdonald’s flat uninvited, refuse to leave when asked to do so, shouting, swearing, making threats of violence towards Mr Keenan and challenging him to fight.
Both offences were committed at MacKenzie Court, Caol, on May 3 and 4 this year. Sentencing was deferred until today for a background report.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told the court Gall and Miss Macdonald had been in a relationship that ended in June last year.
She said Gall’s ex-partner and her friend were in her flat when he turned up uninvited at about 9.50pm on May 3. He was drunk and was asked to leave but refused to go.
Ms Robertson said Mr Keenan eventually left and Gall followed him out into the street where he “goaded him” and tried to start a fight.
“At around 2am the following day, Miss Macdonald received a text saying: ‘Keenan is getting smashed’,” said the fiscal depute.
She added that this was followed by further threatening texts to Miss Macdonald and an online message to Mr Keenan. The police were contacted.
Defence solicitor Hamish Melrose told the court Gall and Miss Macdonald had been in a relationship for about four and a half years. He reacted badly when they split up, but thought he was over her.
Mr Melrose said: “He realises his behaviour was way, way out of order and he cannot understand fully what thought was going through his mind when he was doing all this.”
He added: “Never in a million years did Mr Gall intend to carry out these threats.”
Sentencing Gall, Sheriff Richard Davidson told him: “You have to accept that your ex-partner is exactly that.”
