A boxer who menaced his friend with a series of threatening Facebook messages has been ordered by a court to stay out of trouble.
Ryan Warden, an experienced bantamweight fighter, threatened to slit his friend’s throat after hearing he had slept with his ex-girlfriend.
The 23-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted sending abusive social media messages to Jak Wood in June.
Warden, of Green Road, Kinross, had also admitted breaching a court-imposed curfew.
The court was told that Warden had been friends with Mr Wood since school but a misunderstanding had led Warden to believe his friend was in a relationship with his ex-partner, fiscal Carol Whyte said.
In his first Facebook message, Warden asked Mr Wood, 23, to meet him. When he did not get a response, he sent another, stating: “If you don’t meet me, I will come to your door every hour until you do.”
Ms Whyte said there were further messages sent.
“It was indicated that if Mr Warden was charged, once he was out of jail he would visit Mr Wood and slit his throat,” she added.
Mr Wood received another late-night message from Warden, telling him he had been to his door. He asked him if he had been sleeping with “his bird” again.
The court heard that Mr Wood went on holiday and came back a week later to even more messages from Warden.
Warden was traced and questioned by police on June 16. He admitted sending the messages.
Defence agent David Holmes said that since the incident, the pair were good friends again. He submitted a letter to the court that was handwritten by Mr Wood and heaped praise on Warden.
Sheriff Valerie Johnston ordered Warden to carry out 20 hours of unpaid work for the breach of curfew matter. He will be sentenced in one year’s time for the Facebook offence and his behaviour will be monitored in the interim.