A man who attacked his girlfriend and was violent towards police officers has been jailed for 14 months.
Frederick Garner, 41, was sentenced at Hamilton Sheriff Court despite a plea for leniency from his solicitor.
Garner, of Avon Tower, Motherwell, admitted assaulting the woman at her flat in Main Street, Bellshill, on November 25, 2020.
The court heard he dragged her across the floor, banged her head off doors and compressed her throat with his hands.
An allegation that Garner tried to choke her with a dog chain was deleted from the charge.
Neil Thomson, prosecuting, said Garner became aggressive after drinking and turned violent when his girlfriend asked him to leave.
When he grabbed her by the throat she managed to break free and shoved him out of the front door.
She suffered a burst lip, swelling to her cheek and wrist, and redness to her neck.
Garner also admitted headbutting a police officer at Avon Tower on September 8, 2020 and possessing a knife in Logandale Avenue, Wishaw, on New Year’s Day 2021.
On that occasion police found him in an intoxicated state.
He was arrested and told officers, “I’m going to slit your throat”.
A kitchen knife that he claimed was for cutting drugs was found in his backpack.
Garner also admitted kicking a police officer on that occasion and breaching a bail curfew in February last year.
Defence agent Diarmid Bruce said Garner was a recovering alcoholic but had relapsed and was also taking valium, crack cocaine and cannabis.
The solicitor suggested a community payback order could be imposed, adding: “He has fragile mental health but now has a new partner and has stopped taking drugs.”
Jailing Garner, Sheriff Colin Dunipace told him: “Everything that can be said on your behalf has been, but this was not a one-off incident.
“It was a course of conduct over a period of time and, accordingly, I see no alternative to custody.”
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