ABERDEEN FATHER AVOIDS JAIL AFTER THREATENING EX WITH PETROL BOMB
A father has been spared prison after he threatened to petrol bomb his former partner's residence under the false belief she was holding their children "to ransom".Dylan Stewart, aged 24, engaged in a series of threatening actions against the mother of his children between April 16 and June 12 in the year 2021.He visited her home, issued threats, and broke her windows on three separate occasions.Stewart admitted to Aberdeen Sheriff Court to misconduct that included threatening and abusive behavior towards the woman, causing her to fear or become alarmed, and damaging her property.
Additionally, he confessed to racially abusing a police officer.Details of the IncidentsAccording to prosecutor Anne Macdonald, during one incident, the woman was awakened at night by vigorous knocking on her front door, discovering Stewart and another man outside.
She described: "She looked through the peephole.
It was dark and both men were wearing dark clothing.
Her doorbell was repeatedly rung and she could hear voices.
The two men identified themselves as the accused and his brother.
The accused then told her 'you're dead.'" This statement made her feel extremely frightened.Subsequently, Stewart returned days later at a gathering, telling her "it's not over yet".
He and a friend then threw rocks at her window, breaking it, prompting her to contact police.
Stewart was later detained by officers and during questioning, he revealed his intent to "petrol bomb" her home.Sentencing and Court RemarksDefense lawyer Laura Gracie explained that Stewart had been drinking heavily at the time due to a family bereavement and claimed he had "no recollection of any of this." She added that he believed his children were being held hostage, citing an incident where the mother was hosting a party and refused to let him care for the children.Sheriff Philip Mann addressed Stewart directly, stating: "You're 24-years-old and you still have a lot of growing up to do.
I hope this will serve as a lesson because if your actions continue, you could face imprisonment.
Consider the impact on your children."As an alternative to imprisonment, Stewart was sentenced to a community payback order with supervision for two years, and a three-year non-harassment order was imposed.
He was also required to complete 60 hours of unpaid work and attend a domestic offenders' program.
