A dad who dodged a slap from a stranger in Aberdeen then sent the man to the hospital when he punched him back, a court has heard.
Father-of-three Gary Glennie was out drinking with family when he stepped out for a cigarette on Union Street and was approached by a man who swung at him.
However, the man missed and Glennie then hit him with a flurry of punches that caused a large bloody gash on the man’s head.
The incident was caught on CCTV and the 57-year-old was traced and arrested by police.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Glennie told officers at the time that the man was in his face and “things happened”.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of assault by repeatedly punching his victim.
Accused was caught assaulting man on CCTV
Fiscal depute Jen Pritchard told the court that on February 4 this year a nightclub doorman saw a man make a slapping gesture towards Glennie’s face outside the Union Cafe and Bistro, but that he did not appear to make contact.
She added: “He saw that the argument continued and the accused made numerous swings with a closed fist at the complainer’s face.
“Around this time police CCTV operators also observed the incident as it was ongoing and instructed police officers to attend.
“On arrival, they spoke with the complainer who stated that he had been punched by the accused.
“There was blood on his face and it was clearly coming from a cut on his right eyebrow.
“Officers traced the accused inside the locus, at which time he voluntarily stated: ‘I came outside for a fag and he started blah, blah, blah and he was coming up to my face and things happened’.”
Glennie was cautioned, arrested and taken to Kittybrewster Custody Suite.
His victim was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with bruising to his right eye and a 4cm open wound on his right eyebrow.
The cut required surgical glue to close it.
‘The complainer missed but the accused did not miss’
Defence agent Mike Monro described the actions of his client as “very unseemly behaviour”.
He said: “He is embarrassed by his behaviour. He had planned on going home but had stepped inside the locus for a drink instead.
“He was standing having a cigarette and this person comes up asking him for a cigarette and the accused elected to ignore him and the man got in his face.
“He accepts that instead of walking away from him he did punch him.
“The slap from the complainer missed but the accused did not miss with his punch.
“One day he will grow up and not get himself into these situations.”
Sheriff Shelagh McCall fined Glennie, of Cattofield Terrace, Aberdeen, a total of £400.
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