An Aberdeen cafe owner has been fined in court after violently assaulting customers who complained about their food.
William Codona fractured the dissatisfied customer’s cheekbone after following him outside the Promenade Cafe at the beach and flooring him with a brutal punch.
Codona then returned inside his cafe and punched a second customer, who was in the same group.
Codona, 32, has now appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted the attacks.
Fiscal depute Ann Mann told the court the incident happened around 3.30pm on July 30 2022.
She said the complainers and others had attended the cafe for some food.
Cafe owner accepts he was ‘in the wrong’ for punching customers
At the conclusion of their meal, one of the men complained to a manager about their food and an argument ensued.
Ms Mann said: “The accused appeared from the rear of the locus.
“As the man walked out, the accused followed and confronted him outside and, without warning, punched him to the face causing him to fall to the ground and cut the back of his head as a result.”
Codona then returned inside the cafe, where he approached another member of the party and punched him twice to the face.
He then went back into the kitchen area while shocked members of the public contacted the police.
The first male suffered a hairline fracture to his cheekbone, a 2cm cut to the back of his head and superficial wounds to his lip.
Fortunately, Codona’s second victim was uninjured.
Codona, of Devonshire Road, Aberdeen, pled guilty to assault to severe injury and to assault.
Defence agent Ian Woodward-Nutt said his client is the “proprietor” of the cafe and was working there along with his partner and his mother.
He said: “The two complainers were part of a fairly large group who had taken a table within the cafe to eat food.
“It came to my client’s attention that the first complainer had raised a complaint about one item that had been ordered.
“My client’s partner spoke to him about it and offered to change it for something else but the complainer refused.”
Mr Woodward-Nutt told the court that, after the meal, the man approached the counter and spoke to Codona’s mother.
Codona ‘lost control’
The lawyer said he was “angry and agitated” and complained again about the unspecified item.
Codona’s mother offered to remove the cost of the item from the bill, but the man “insisted that the entire bill of over £100 be written off”.
She did not agree.
Mr Woodward-Nutt said: “Before leaving the premises, the man made a comment that he hoped the premises was insured and he suggested to my client’s mother that she come outside with him.
“Unfortunately, it was at this point my client left the kitchen and went outside.
“His intention was to discuss matters with the complainer.
“He approached the complainer who said ‘I’m not having the p*** taken out of me’ and it’s at that stage, as the complainer stepped towards my client, that he lost control and struck him once and deeply regrets doing so.”
The solicitor continued: “He turned and returned inside but, as he did so, the second complainer turned towards him and he, unfortunately, pre-emptively struck him twice.”
Mr Woodward-Nutt submitted that the offences were “uncharacteristic” of Codona who accepts he was “in the wrong”.
Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison fined Codona £840.
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