A man who left his victim with horror injuries after a “square go” in an Inverness cemetery has been jailed for 36 months.
Scott Hunter – along with five other men – struck his victim with weapons, leaving him with four fractures in his skull and three broken fingers, one of which was hanging off.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told the brutal assault was the violent culmination of a feud between two Inverness families.
Hunter, 39, admitted assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and permanent impairment. Not guilty pleas to assault charges from two other men were accepted by the Crown.
Fiscal depute Susan Love previously told the court that the incident took place on December 28 of 2019, after animosity between the two men came to a head.
Police were initially alerted by a member of the public who reported “a large fight” in the cemetery and a person “lying on the ground covered in blood”.
When officers went to investigate they found red staining in “two large pools”.
Weapon ‘like a hammer’ used
Shortly after another call was received from a woman reporting that her partner had been assaulted.
The man was taken to Raigmore Hospital. He was reluctant to speak to officers but did reveal that he had gone to the cemetery to “meet for a fight”.
Ms Love said: “They had arranged to meet at the cemetery one-on-one for a ‘square go’ and shake hands afterwards.
“However when he arrived he had been jumped by six males including the accused.”
The court heard a weapon “like a hammer” had been used.
The man gave further details in a later police interview.
“He advised that he had attended the cemetery and when he had arrived he had been speaking to another when he was hit on the back of the head,” said Ms Love.
Horrific injuries
“The accused had then come out of nowhere and kicked him on the head causing him to fall backwards and he ended up lying on his back.
“The accused and another had then began kicking him repeatedly on the head whilst another hit him repeatedly on the head with a dumb-bell.
“When attempting to defend his face the dumb-bell had struck his right hand.”
He suffered four fractures to his skull, a broken eye socket, a minor displaced nasal fracture and three broken fingers on his right hand which were shattered, the court was told.
Defence solicitor Patrick O’Dea said: “He was struck on the head with a hammer eight years ago and since then his health has deteriorated.
“He has only one conviction for violence in 2017 and has spent the equivalent of 18 months on remand.”
Sheriff Robert Frazer told Hunter there was “no alternative to a prison sentence”.
“You do not have the worst record this court has seen but the degree of violence cannot be ignored, nor the serious injuries caused,” he said.
Hunter’s sentence was backdated to November 4 last year when he was first remanded.