A retired firefighter has been issued a community payback order and a non-harassment order after admitting an incident with a knife.
George Dow, 52, of Brander Lodge Hotel, Bridge of Awe, pleaded guilty at his first court appearance on September 25 this year.
The charge was that on September 24 at Glenview in Dalmally he behaved in a threatening and abusive way, acting in an aggressive manner, shouting and swearing and taking possession of a knife, striking a sofa with it, and also uttered threats of violence towards his partner while in possession of the knife.
Dow’s case was heard for sentencing at Oban Sheriff Court last week where he was issued with a community payback order of 160 hours unpaid work and 18 months supervision.
Previously the court heard that on the day of the offence Dow had been in the living room of the address in Dalmally when he got angry. He took a kitchen knife and stabbed it into the arm of the settee, then stood over his partner and held the knife next to her neck. She kicked him away and was able to call the police.
When police arrived at the scene, the complainant had returned home and Dow was still in the living room.
He told police it was not a big knife and that it was a small knife. “I’m going to do the right thing,” he told officers, saying he was a retired fireman who had served for more than 29 years before retiring.
Defence solicitor Kevin McGuinness had also previously told the court Dow and his partner had “consumed a large amount of alcohol” and that his client was “full of regret” about it, since then drastically reducing his alcohol intake.