Eastgate Shopping Centre stalker is jailed
A man who stalked a waitress working in a food court at the Inverness Eastgate Centre was jailed for a year for that offence and breach community payback orders.
Marcin Raczko, no fixed abode, was watching Natalia Winiarczyk as she worked at Lorimers restaurant for about half an hour on May 23 then was seen by the 31 year-old mother standing in the street opposite her home in the Crown area of Inverness.
On Monday, Sheriff Margaret Neilson heard during evidence how Ms Winiarczyk had previously reported Raczko to police.
She said she had saw him standing in the food court staring at her , walking back and fore.
Then he left.
But when she finished her shift she returned home to find him standing in the street.
Raczko (30) of no fixed abode had denied on May 23 at the Eastgate engaging in a course of conduct likely to cause fear and alarm by attending at Ms Winiarczyk’s place of work and staring at her and watching her as she returned to her home address.
Ms Winiarczyk said she began her shift that day about 11am and she saw Raczko from about 11.30 to mid-day as he was walking back and forth in the food court watching her between Lorimers, who she worked for, and KFC.
She said he had got some foot from KFC.
"I was very nervous."
Asked by depute fiscal Kelly Mitchell if he was known to her Winiarczyk’s replied that he was not.
But she said she had seen him before and she had reported him to the police because he knew where she lived and she had seen him standing outside her house.
Ms Winiarczyk spoke to one of her colleague’s about her concerns. When she finished her shift she went home and Raczko was standing in the street opposite her house.
She said she went inside to ‘calm herself’ down and left an hour later to collect her child from nursery but Raczko had left.
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Raczko admitted he had been at the centre that day and knew the area in which Ms Winiarczyk lived.
But he denied he had been staring at her or stalking her. He said she was lying.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson however said she found the Crown evidence reliable and found him guilty.
The court heard Raczko was already in custody relating to alleged breaches of community service order.
Sentence had been deferred until today (Thursday). He was jailed for eight months on the stalking charge and four months for the breaches of community pay back orders.