A Perth man threatened to carry out a dirty protest at a Salvation Army-run hostel after complaints by other residents about the smell – and the flies – coming from his room.
At one point, 22-year-old Ardle Dempster threatened to barricade himself in his room at the Skinnergate Lifehouse in the city centre, and then trash the premises. Perth Sheriff Court was told he had been asked to tidy up over a weekend, but he said he would do it “in his own time”.
Support worker Raymond Grant returned and offered to help but the accused refused to answer – and then became “extremely abusive”.
The confrontation, witnessed by another employee, became even more heated as efforts were made to speak to him after he had slammed the door on them. He then threatened: “If you don’t go away, I’ll go and get sh***, spread it on the walls and shove it in your face.
“I’ve got an iron and I’ll throw it through the f***ing window. I’ll make
holes in the walls. You can get the f***ing police if you want.”
But he then added: “If you call the police, I’ll barricade the door and smash the f***ing place up.”
Depute fiscal Catriona MacQueen told the court: “The support worker felt threatened by these comments.
“There were concerns that the accused would open the door and assault him.”
The abusive rant led to Dempster being ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work within the next six months. He will also be supervised by a social worker for a year as an alternative to custody.
He admitted making the unsavoury comments and threats at the Skinnergate premises on November 5 last year.
Ms MacQueen said the accused had been living at the hostel, which helps the homeless to re-integrate into the community, for five months leading up to the incident.
Other residents had made the complaint to Mr Grant on November 2 – and around 2pm on November 5, he was told the accused’s room still hadn’t been tidied.
Solicitor David Holmes said his client had spent a “considerable period” being homeless and had a variety of issues.
“It was a complete over-reaction,” added the lawyer.
He would be “only too willing” to complete unpaid work, which hadn’t been tried before.
Imposing the order, Sheriff Gillian Wade warned him: “You’re a young person with a significant record and if you carry on down this line, you will end up with a custodial sentence because of your behaviour.”
