An axeman who threatened he would kneecap a man he said had called him a name on Facebook was spared jail today.
Richard Mulholland, 38, was arrested after climbing onto his ex-partner's balcony in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, claiming she had been sleeping with the man, named in court as Mark Gray.
He had earlier messaged his ex's sister, claiming "he was heading for his [Mark Gray's] house in ten minutes".
He said: "He will be dropped. I'll lose everything - I've lost it all anyway. I'm leaving my house now. I know where he stays, so I've got me and my axe.
"Good luck. See you in 15 to 20 years."
He sent a photo of the axe.
When he was arrested after turning up, banging on the balcony windows of the home of Lisa Paterson, his former partner of 14 years, in Bowhouse Road, Grangemouth, he asked cops: "Why are you arresting me? Is it because I threatened that guy with an axe?
"I wish that c*** was here, I'd batter his face even with these cuffs on."
He added: "I came to see her [Ms Paterson] because she's been s******* him. It's not on.
"I went to Lisa's with an axe. I realised that was stupid so I threw the axe into a field.
"Mark called me a name on Facebook so I was going to kneecap him, and if you didn't get to me when you did I was going to his [address] next."
Rebecca Reid, prosecuting, said the axe was later found on a footpath near Ms Paterson's home.
Mulholland, of Falkirk, appearing by video link from prison, pleaded guilty to a statutory breach of the peace, and possessing the axe.
The incidents happened on June 19th (2021).
Solicitor-advocate Stephen Biggam said Mulholland had been struggling with mental health difficulties.
He said: "He'd got it into his head that there was some sort of relationship going on."
The court heard Ms Paterson did not regard Mulholland, the father of her children, as any danger to her, and that after two days after the incident, having been released by police, he had returned to her house from where he had phoned NHS 24 for help with his mental health.
NHS 24 then alerted police, and he was then arrested again for breaching the terms of an undertaking he gave to police to stay away from Ms Paterson's address.
Sheriff Derek Livingston said Mulholland had already served the equivalent of a 10-month sentence on remand since his second arrest.
He sentenced him to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work, and placed him under three years' social work supervision, with a condition to engage with alcohol and mental health services.
He told him: "You do need some help."
