A Turriff fisherman who torched a love rival’s car has been ordered to stay out of trouble for the next nine months.
Austen Arango-Smith appeared at Banff Sheriff Court yesterday after previously admitting setting fire to a Ford Fiesta belonging to the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend.
The court heard the vehicle owner’s dad woke up on January 4 this year to the sound of glass shattering outside his home on Wallace Crescent, Turriff.
Fiscal David Thorburn told the court Arango-Smith had previously threatened to “torch his (the complainer’s) car” two weeks prior over a row involving his ex-girlfriend.
Mr Thorburn added that CCTV footage from a nearby business picked up the 20-year-old in the area at the time of the fire.
“[It] showed a person visually similar and wearing the same clothes as the accused,” he said.
Arango-Smith was also yesterday warned for his conduct in a row which took place a year before the fire.
On July 24, 2016, he had hit a man twice on the head with a metal pole because he refused to reimburse his fuel costs.
His victim suffered swelling and had to be taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as a precaution.
Sheriff Philip Mann branded the incidents as “serious offences” which could warrant custody.
“I’m told you struck the complainer twice on the head,” he said.
“This could have had catastrophic consequences.
“Equally, setting fire to anything – particularly a motor vehicle which has flammable material – could have catastrophic consequences.”
Arango-Smith’s defence agent, Debbie Wilson, told the court that the fisherman was “genuinely remorseful” for his actions.
The sheriff gave Arango-Smith nine months to show he can behave, but warned if he did not stay out of trouble, he could be locked up.
