A stalker who vandalised a lawyer’s £120,000 sports car has been ordered to stay away from him for 10 years. Joanne Maxwell caused extensive scratches to the luxury Mercedes on at least two occasions.
She turned up repeatedly at Diarmid Bruce's office over a 14-month period, demanding to see files, and pelted one of his colleagues with eggs. Maxwell, 34, admitted a course of conduct that caused the Lanarkshire-based lawyer fear or alarm.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that she used an unknown implement to damage the Mercedes, including carving an offensive word on the bonnet. The cost of repairs was well in excess of £1,000.
Maxwell, of Motherwell, admitted pestering Bruce between January 26, 2021, and March 29 last year. She also admitted shouting abuse at his colleague Simon Gilmour, throwing eggs at him and his car and pouring the contents of a bottle over another staff member outside the firm's Motherwell office.
Maxwell was formerly a client and trouble began when she demanded access to papers the firm said she was not entitled to see.
Eventually the police were called in after she confronted a female employee in the street and poured an unspecified liquid over her.
Sheriff Ross Macfarlane imposed a three-year supervision order, telling Maxwell: “This is a direct alternative to custody to give you the full benefit of pleading guilty at the pre-trial stage.”
She must also do 200 hours of unpaid community work. The sheriff also imposed a 10-year non-harassment order, banning Maxwell from contacting Bruce, Gilmour and two members of staff and from “lingering “ outside their Motherwell office.
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