A former soldier with six previous convictions for assault has been told to prepare himself for jail after he admitted carrying out a violent attack on a stranger in Aberdeen.
Adrian Stephen appeared at the city’s sheriff court yesterday and admitted beating up reveller Gregg McCallum on August 31 last year.
The court heard Mr McCallum and his girlfriend had been walking along Union Street when they passed Stephen.
Fiscal depute Felicity Merson said the woman thought Stephen had groped her and told her boyfriend, who whistled at him to get his attention.
An argument broke out between the two men and Stephen snapped and repeatedly punched his victim on the head before head butting him.
Mr McCallum fell to the ground, hitting a window, and was left with a bleeding nose and a dislocated shoulder, which kept him off work for six weeks.
When police arrived at the scene they found the pair struggling with each other on the pavement.
Stephen, 29, was arrested but officers said he was “too intoxicated” to be questioned at the time.
Representing the repeat offender, solicitor Sheena Mair said her client had suffered from depression and mental health issues for a number of years after he was “forced out of the Army”.
Ms Mair said Stephen had been bullied by his uncle, who was also in the Army at the time, and as a result could no longer stand to be in the armed forces.
The solicitor asked Sheriff William Summers to defer sentence on Stephen, now of 59 Zetland Street, Darlington, to allow background reports to be carried out to assess whether he would be suitable for community service.
However, Sheriff Summers said the only “realistic disposal” would be jail, given his past convictions.
He said: “I find it hard to see any other sensible disposal other than a custodial sentence so you do need to prepare yourself for that.”
Sentence was deferred until later this month.