A man who cut himself and smeared blood on a wall outside an Inverness city centre hair salon did it to impress women, a court was told.
Mohamed Ahmed had swigged from a bottle of Buckfast and smashed the bottle, splashing the salon’s windows before taking a razor from his bag.
He smeared blood from his cuts on the walls of the building – but his solicitor said it had been a misguided attempt at “showing off in front of ladies”.
Ahmed appeared via videolink from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a charge of threatening behaviour in relation to the incident on July 16 of this year.
He also pled guilty to another threatening behaviour charge relating to his behaviour on May 13 of this year at one restaurant belonging to his father and admitted theft from another of his father’s businesses on the same date.
Fiscal depute Adelle Gray told the court it was about 7pm on July 16 of this year that witnesses saw Ahmed drinking from a bottle of Buckfast on Queensgate, before throwing and smashing the bottle.
Man rubbed blood on walls outside Inverness salon
She said: “The accused then looked like he was bleeding from the broken bottle and proceeded to rub the blood on the walls of the salon, then proceeded to take out a disposable razor from his bag and cut himself causing more bleeding.”
Ms Gray told the court the other incident had taken place on May 13 of this year when Ahmed attended at his father’s restaurant, Shapla, on Castle Road, Inverness and “immediately began being verbally abusive”.
He was asked to leave but continued his behaviour, entering a second restaurant owned by his father and saying: “F*** your business, I’m going to smash your restaurant”.
Shortly after this Ahmed turned up at his father’s River Grill restaurant and made threats before walking to the bar area and opening the till using a touch screen system, removing £64.10 in cash.
Defence solicitor Clare Russell told the court that her 24-year-old client, lives with his father when at liberty and works in the family business.
Speaking of the blood-smearing incident she said: “This appears to have been some sort of very poorly thought out attempt to show off in front of some lady friends that he was with.
‘Showing off in front of ladies’
“Apparently, it is something called ‘flexing’ – some American way of showing off in front of ladies.
“Clearly he has understood the error of his ways.
“He understands that blood, particularly in the current climate, is something that is of great concern to people.”
Ms Russell explained that Ahmed had voluntarily taken a test for blood-borne viruses in the wake of the incident and added: “He understands that that would have been very distressing for others that were involved.”
In relation to the restaurant incident, she said this had been a “family dispute that got out of hand”.
Ms Russell explained to the court that Ahmed had believed his father was not paying what he was due for working in the family business.
She added: “Whilst that is an explanation, he understands that his behaviour towards his father was entirely inappropriate.”
Sheriff David Harvie told Ahmed that the Queensgate incident must have been “quite distressing” to those who saw it and added that his conduct at his father’s businesses was “the very definition of childish behaviour”.
Sheriff Harvie jailed Ahmed, of Ladies Walk, Inverness, for three months for the blood-smearing incident, backdated to July 18, and three months for the restaurant crimes.
The sentences will run concurrently.
