Inverness man drove his van towards an elderly lady’s house and separately attacked another man inside his home

A man drove his van towards an elderly lady’s house and separately attacked another man inside his home.

David Stewart (50) was spotted outside the woman’s address in Ardness Place, Inverness, on the afternoon of June 11, 2023, by her daughter, before he climbed into a van and drove towards the house.

Fiscal depute Emily Hood told Sheriff Sara Matheson at Inverness Sheriff Court that the mother and daughter called the police and were advised to lock the doors.

Ms Hood said the accused “rammed” the daughter’s vehicle, also a van, before “driving at speed at the perimeter of the house.”

Stewart then stepped out of the vehicle, picked up a plank of wood and shouted and screamed while hitting the daughter’s vehicle.

A neighbour also called the police and when officers turned up they found Stewart extremely irate and a police dog had to be deployed.

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Stewart was heard saying “I will kill her at some point” the court was told.

He was arrested but refused to give a specimen of breath.

On July 17 of the same year a man was at home in David Munro Place, Inverness planning to watch a film while his front door was closed but unlocked.

The court was told he received numerous calls from a private number and when he answered one of these calls he could hear Stewart and another individual.

He then saw a man outside who walked into his house with Stewart, brandishing a glass bottle. Both appeared intoxicated.

Ms Hood said: “The complainer tried to stop them with a nearby kayak oar, however the two began to assault him and they all ended up outside.”

Stewart and the other individual left the scene and were later spotted outside a Highland Council depot with blood on their faces.

Ms Hood said that the householder had “swelling on his forehead like an egg and several scratches on both sides of his face.”

She added: “He had a 4cm laceration at the left side of his head, which required to be glued, alongside a scratch across his lower back which was 30cm long and 10 small puncture marks to his legs.”

Stewart, of Macdonald Court, Inverness, pleaded guilty to driving a motor van dangerously, maliciously striking a motor van with a plank of wood, behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and failing to cooperate with a preliminary breath test.

He also admitted committing assault while on bail and having an offensive weapon.

Sheriff Matheson deferred sentencing until May 27 for background reports to be prepared.