A Macduff man has avoided jail and put on curfew after admitting an assault in the town last year.
Instead, Peter Brown, 32, has been tagged and ordered to stay within his James Street address between the hours of 7pm to 7am for four months.
Brown admitted punching a man to the head repeatedly on December 2, resulting in the man’s injury.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn told the court that Brown had been on a night out drinking with friends and had returned home at around 3am.
Bloody mess
“He found his property in a mess. There was blood over the floor of the stairwell,” Ms Gunn continued.
“Twenty minutes later the complainer entered the house and an argument began about the mess the property had been left in.”
The court heard this argument culminated in Brown punching the man, who sustained bruising around his right eye, which did not need medical attention.
Brown’s defence agent Debbie Wilson said her client had recently spent time overcoming a drug addiction, but had now replaced it with an alcohol problem, adding: “Which is more manageable.
“At the time of the offence, it was not good.”
Uncompleted community service
Sheriff Robert MacDonald mentioned that Brown still had an outstanding community payback order with hours of unpaid work and asked how many hours he had completed.
Ms Wilson replied: “All the hours are outstanding bar the induction and one hour. He has much more chance of doing them now with a drink problem, than with the drug problem.”
Sheriff MacDonald warned Brown he was in a “precarious position” and said he would deal with him by placing him under a curfew but added: “I will review in three months and that review needs to be exemplary.
“You have a history of not turning up to court – anything of that nature and I will revoke all orders and sentence you to time in prison.”
Curfew
Brown was placed under supervision for one year and will be given an electronic tag to prevent him from leaving his home between the hours of 7pm and 7am for four months.
“This would have been six months,” Sheriff MacDonald said. “However, you plead guilty and although it can’t be said that you have done anything to aid the ministries of justice, I will discount this to four months.”
Brown, of James Street, was ordered to return to Banff Sheriff Court on September 18.
