Two men who admitted a bar brawl in Aberdeen got off with only a fine after a sheriff said they had been “significantly provoked”.
Lee Dow, 38, and Gary Johnstone, 25, admitted assaulting the man at The Spirit Level pub in Aberdeen.
The court heard that at 6pm on March 11 last year, the pair had been inside drinking as part of a group.
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann said: “At some point during the night, Dow and [the complainer] were chatting.
“At one point, he turned on the complainer and seized him by the neck. A fistfight began, and Dow punched the complainer on the head with a closed fist.
Hit out with a bottle during Aberdeen bar fight
“Johnstone then walked up to the complainer and entered the fight. He picked up a glass bottle of beer from the bar and struck the complainer on the head once.
“The complainer was not injured as a result of this and was later part of another assault.”
Dow’s defence agent McRoberts said his client had been out with his brother and a group of friends, one of which was a wheelchair user.
Mr McRoberts continued: “Mr Dow said the complainer had been verbally abusive towards the person in the wheelchair.
“There is CCTV footage to back this up. The complainer went away but came back – as described in the charges – and a single punch was thrown, not repeated.”
Revenge attack
Mr McRoberts then explained that Dow had gone outside to go home, but as he was getting into the passenger seat of a car the man he punched appeared and assaulted Dow “with others”.
He told the court his client had needed to take four weeks off work after sustaining a broken cheekbone and eye socket as a result of the attack.
The victim in this case is now serving 11 months imprisonment for that assault, Mr McRoberts said.
“Mr Dow accepts he should not have got involved at all,” he added.
Johnstone’s defence agent Ms Logan told the court that her client also accepted his responsibility in the incident and admitted it was “stupid” to get involved.
‘Trend towards violence’
On sentencing, Sheriff Graham Buchanan said it was “very lucky” their victim had not been injured by the bottle and made mention of Johnstone’s previous record and his “apparent trend towards violence”.
Ms Logan said Johnstone had now “changed his life around” and had started working full-time.
Sheriff Buchanan said he was taking a “slightly more lenient” view given the “significant level of provocation” involved.
He fined Dow, of Dunnyfell Road, Muchalls, £360 as he had played a “lesser” role and had not used a weapon. Johnstone, of Rosehill Court, Aberdeen, was fined £790.