No jail for Wick man guilty of stalking campaign

A Wick man who subjected a couple to a sustained stalking campaign for almost a year has avoided a jail sentence.

But Sheriff Neil Wilson warned Mark Falconer, who was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid community work, that should he reappear on a similar offence he would face a custodial sentence.

Falconer was also required to pay his victims, Derek Falconer (no relation) and Nicola Swanson compensation of £500 each.

Mark Falconer (38) dogged his ex, Miss Swanson, and her subsequent partner, Derek Falconer, constantly, “popping up” at places he knew they would be in Wick.

The accused, of Hill Avenue, Wick, previously denied having entered into a course of conduct that caused the couple fear and alarm, between June 2021 and May 2022, but was found guilty at Wick Sheriff Court last month.

During a three-day trial, Sheriff Wilson heard about Falconer's repetitive behaviour which the couple found “intimidating and scary”.

The accused’s pre-meditated conduct targeted them in their personal and private lives.

Miss Swanson split with the accused in 2019 after a nine-year relationship. She described through a video link how he repeatedly appeared at her then place of work at the Tesco store in Wick, sometimes in his coal lorry, on other occasions in his car, despite the accused being banned from entering the supermarket site.

Miss Swanson, who since found employment elsewhere, said that the accused frequently drove past her home and would stop his coal lorry and stare at her. She also spoke about sometimes being forced to change her driving route to prevent the accused from following her.

Derek Falconer, told how the accused followed him as he drove to the Tesco store. The accused pulled up alongside him and told him: “You're dead... you're dead.” The witness described how he had discovered his car tyres had been slashed and a couple of days later the accused passed his home and was “laughing his head off”.

Derek Falconer added that he was constantly “looking his shoulder”, never knowing when the accused would appear.

Both Mr Falconer and Miss Swanson identified the accused from CCTV footage as the person who appeared at their home in Wick and caused damage.

Sheriff Wilson said he found the couple’s evidence “both credible and reliable” and was impressed by how they had given it.

Passing sentence this week, the sheriff referred to the evidence he had heard of the accused’s “sustained pattern of behaviour” in the course of almost a year.

The sheriff told Falconer: “I would be perfectly entitled to send you to prison today but I am persuaded, just, not to do so.”

Sheriff Wilson referred to the accused’s limited previous record of offending but warned: “If you come before me on anything resembling this type of offence again, I will revoke the work order and send you to prison.”

The accused was also made subject to a two-year non-harassment order banning him from approaching or contacting Mr Falconer and Miss Swanson.

It was not the first time Miss Swanson found herself on the receiving end of the accused’s unwelcome presence.

It happened when she called at the accused’s then-home in Reiss, in October, 2020, in connection with a family arrangement.

CCTV showed Falconer advancing towards Miss Swanson outside the house. The accused leaned over her with a clenched fist and threatened her.

Falconer, of Hill Avenue, Wick, also tried to frighten a witness from giving evidence in the case. He avoided jail on that occasion by “the thinnest of margins” and was ordered to carry out 270 hours of unpaid community work while under supervision.