A JAMESTOWN man has been banned from contacting members of his family and entering an Alexandria street after an alcohol-fuelled rant last year.
David Kirkwood pleaded guilty in October to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards his partner, her daughter and a child at his home in Oakburn Walk, causing them to leave the address and placing them in a state of fear and alarm.
Charges against Kirkwood stated that on June 2, 2021 he “did adopt an aggressive demeanour, repeatedly shout, swear, strike a door, and utter threats to damage property”.
On the same day he was said to have attended a property in Dillichip Gardens uninvited, while he again adopted an aggressive demeanour, shouted, swore, and kicked a door.
Having been granted bail two days after those offences, and been ordered not to contact or communicate with the three complainers or enter the Bonhill street, Kirkwood breached both of those special bail conditions.
Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard on Friday, January 14 that Kirkwood, 56, optimises websites for a private company but had lost his last job due to his problem with alcohol.
Sheriff Maxwell Hendry told the hearing: “His life is going steeply downhill. Alcohol is at the root of that.”
Defence solicitor Kenny McGowan said: “He requires prompting to sustain his efforts to abstain from drink.”
Sentencing Kirkwood to a community payback order (CPO) as a direct alternative to custody, the sheriff said: “I want to put a safety net in place in case your own determination to address these issues starts to wane.
“It is never a happy sight to see someone at your stage in life attaining a criminal record.”
Kirkwood must complete 150 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.
He will also be subject to supervision by the social work department for 18 months and must attend alcohol treatment and/or counselling.
A non-harassment order was imposed meaning Kirkwood must not contact or communicate, or attempt to contact or communicate with, the three people named in the charge for three years.
He was also banned from entering Lomond Crescent in Alexandria for the same length of time.
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