Greenock man acquitted of running ex's car of country road

Ryan Graham, 26, stood trial at Greenock Sheriff Court charged with a number of offences, including engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive of the woman between December 3, 2021 and January 24, 2022.

It was alleged that Mr Graham had slashed a tyre on her car on Tasker Street, as well as shouting, uttering threats and brandishing a knife or similar implement at her on Kilmacolm Road on a separate occasion.

Prosecutors had claimed that he pursued the woman in his car on Kilmacolm Road on December 9, 2021, eventually causing her vehicle to veer off the road.

A further charge alleged that he had an offensive weapon – namely a baseball bat – in his possession on the same day.

Giving evidence before Sheriff Nicola Patrick, the complainer described being in her car with a friend at Knocknairshill Cemetery late at night when Mr Graham pulled up beside them.

She claimed the accused got out of his car yielding the baseball bat and demanded to know who she was with.

The court heard that Mr Graham eventually returned to his car and exited the cemetery, with the complainer also leaving a short while later to go to a family member’s house.

After leaving the property later that night, the woman said she passed Mr Graham’s car travelling in the opposite direction on Kilmacolm Road.

She said: “I saw him do a tree-point turn on the road.

"I knew he was going to follow us. He was going to come after us again.

“I think I just went into shock. I was looking in my rear view mirror and the next minute I was in a ditch.”

In her evidence, the passenger added: “It was quite traumatic being run off the road at 90mph. It all happened within seconds.

“One minute I looked around and he was behind us. The next, the car was swerving everywhere and we were in the embankment.”

Both witnesses said they were offered a lift home by Mr Graham after the incident.

The complainer told the court that neither could contact police at the time as their phones were out of power.

Later in her evidence, she claimed that her friend was dropped home first and that she then ‘messaged her the full time’ she was in the car alone with Mr Graham.

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When questioned about how she was able to do this, the complainer said: “I thought my phone was dead, but it must’ve been on.”

Defence solicitor Gerry Keenan said: “It’s a curious thing to say in your evidence.

"I put it to you that you were caught out making up a story.”

The woman replied: “Nope. Not at all.

“If I wasn’t standing here three years down the line maybe I would know exactly what happened.”

Mr Keenan also questioned the pair’s decision to get in the car with a man who had ‘earlier presented with such aggression’.

She said: “That’s what happens when you are in an abusive relationship.

“You still try to protect them – even when they do you wrong.”

The passenger added: “What else are two girls going to do late at night on a back road?

“I wasn’t okay with it, but did I have any other choice?”

Delivering her verdict, Sheriff Patrick said: “This turns on credibility and reliability.

“The doubts in my mind come from a number of areas.”

The sheriff found all charges against Mr Graham to be not proven.