A man threatened his neighbour with a Stanley knife in a row about puppy poo.
Gary Easton confronted his neighbour Finn Gilfillan as he believed he was bad-mouthing him following an incident in which his dogs had escaped into the neighbour’s garden.
During the argument, which took place through a window, the 53-year-old removed the blade from his pocket.
Clambered over fence
Fiscal depute Laura McManus told Dunfermline Sheriff Court: “On the afternoon of May 21 there was an incident where the accused was in his garden and his two dogs went into his neighbour’s garden.
“That evening the neighbours were in their flat, watching TV.
“They looked outside and saw the accused trying to climb the fence into their garden.
“He appeared unsteady but he managed to get over their fence and came up to the living room window.
“He then began pointing at the witness and said ‘come on then’, as if asking them out for a fight.
“He said, ‘are you trying to say my dogs are s***ing in your garden?’
“There was a conversation and the accused later said words like, ‘I’ll slash you’ to Mr Gilfillan.
“He then took a silver Stanley knife out of his right pocket.”
Conflicting claims over knives
She said Mr Gilfillan produced a knife of his own and following a further short conversation, Easton went back over the fence.
Solicitor Stephen Morrison, defending, said Easton had taken steps to try and prevent his dogs entering Mr Gilfillan’s garden following the first incident.
He said Easton had produced the Stanley blade in response to Mr Gilfillan producing the knife.
He said: “He had the Stanley knife in his pocket because shortly before this he had been cutting a washing line.
“He regrets that this escalated.
“He has two young puppies and they got through a gap in the fence.
“They were there for a minute but he’s not aware of them causing any mess.
“He put a chair against the gap.
“He then overheard the Gilfillans having a conversation about mess in the garden.
“Had be been aware of it, if it were true, he would have picked it up for them.
“He took the Stanley knife out of his pocket when he saw Mr Gilfillan with his knife.”
The charges
Easton, of Donald Street, Dunfermline, admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner by shouting, swearing and acting in an aggressive manner whilst in possession of a Stanley knife on March 21.
Sheriff Alastair Brown placed him on a three month curfew and added a two-year order banning him from alarming his neighbours.
