An Angus man made threats to torch his partner’s home over a £2,000 online casino win.
Rory Starkey, 29, had been released on bail just 24 hours earlier, after firearms police had to break into his barricaded flat.
He was brought to Forfar Sheriff Court from prison, where he has been remanded for the last 35 days.
The court heard he won the four-figure sum but was locked out of his Mr Vegas account.
Prosecutor Jill Drummond said: “He promised to provide the complainer with half the winnings.
“The complainer has refused, so the accused began to shout and swear down the phone, threatening to kill her and set her address on fire.
“This was overheard by witnesses present. Police were contacted the next day.”
Siege
The threats were the culmination of a series of crimes which began when Starkey assaulted a police officer while in custody at West Bell Street HQ on May 26 last year by kicking him on the body.
A warrant was later taken in relation to that and Starkey barricaded himself in his home in Church Street, Brechin.
More officers needed to attend and Starkey spoke intermittently to them through windows.
They discovered an associate of Starkey was also in the barricaded flat.
Starkey was later seen holding a silver kitchen knife with a blade of between eight and 10 inches.
He was heard to say: “I’m not coming out here alive.”
45 minutes after police first attended, firearms officers joined them and around half-an-hour after that, Starkey’s associate alerted police his friend was preparing to attempt suicide.
Firearms officers quickly broke down the barricade and handed Starkey over to the Scottish Ambulance Service who took him to Ninewells.
Sentencing deferred
Starkey previously pled guilty to assaulting a constable at West Bell Street on May 26 last year and acting in a threatening or abusive manner at his home on May 11 this year.
He admitted he barricaded himself in, refused to leave, made suicidal threats, held a knife, tried to commit suicide in the presence of another person, putting him in a state of fear or alarm.
At a hearing this week, he admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner towards his partner while she was in Kirriemuir on May 13 by repeatedly phoning her, threatening to kill her and threatening to burn down her house.
Starkey’s solicitor Nick Whelan said: “These were drunk, empty threats.
“Mr Starkey tells me he did win money. There is the phone call.
“It looks like she was trying to reclaim the balance from the online system.
“It’s probably immaterial but that explains the context.
“He’s got a longstanding history of mental health.”
Sheriff Derek Reekie ordered supplementary background reports and deferred sentencing until July 10.
He continued Starkey’s remand and said: “These are awful offences.
“It’s a significant concern both to himself and the public.
“You’ve got firearms officers having to break down doors.
“It’s an extremely serious matter for all sorts of reasons.”
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