A ROSNEATH man who kicked off at police who were called to an incident in the village has been told to do unpaid work as a punishment – but faces prison if he fails to comply.

William Quin reacted angrily when officers found him standing over his partner in the street on the night of July 19.

The 32-year-old appeared for sentencing at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Friday, December 6 after pleading guilty to a charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm.

Fiscal depute Emma Petterson said: “On the evening of July 19, the complainer and the accused were out socialising at a friend’s property in the Rosneath area.

“Police attended as a result of another matter and on arrival observed the accused to be standing over the complainer, who was lying in the roadway.

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“The accused said “get f*****g up”.

“Police took hold of the accused but he immediately became aggressive, telling them to ‘f*** off’, and challenging them to fight. He also stated ‘let’s f*****g do this – fist fight’.”

Quin, formerly of Silverhills in the village but currently living at an address in Logie Place in Helensburgh, originally faced two further charges in connection with the incident.

One alleged that he assaulted his partner by grabbing her by the hair, pulling her on to the roadway and repeatedly punching her on the head and body to her injury, while the second alleged that he had shouted and sworn at another member of the public.

However, his pleas of not guilty to both those charges were accepted by the Crown.

Quin’s solicitor, Emma Hannay, said her client planned to return to live at his previous home in Rosneath once the case was concluded.

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Ms Hannay told Sheriff John Hamilton: “He has a history of domestic incidents – there’s no getting away from that. He was quite candid with the author of the report, and seems to have made no effort to minimise the seriousness of this. He accepts his actions were wrong.

“He’s had his difficulties with drugs, but I understand heroin is no longer a difficulty for him, though he still has difficulties with alcohol and other drugs.

“He is very much at risk of your Lordship taking the view that this is a significant matter for which custody is the only option, but the report’s author appears to invite the court to consider an alternative to custody, and that a community payback order [CPO] would be appropriate, with a focus on supervision to encourage him to use his life more effectively.

“He is also suitable for unpaid work if your Lordship felt that was appropriate.”

Sheriff Hamilton placed Quin on a CPO which will see him supervised by social workers for 12 months; he was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work by June of next year as a punishment.

The sheriff added: “Given your record, and in particular your record of domestically aggravated matters, it’s likely to be custody if you do not comply.”

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