A prisoner knocked out his cellmate who had been “keeping him awake” and “talking quite a lot”.
Owen Grant punched his “erratic” cellmate causing a 6cm cut to his face, which needed 15 stitches to close.
When the man came round Grant, 42, apologised and made him a cup of coffee, Inverness Sheriff Court heard.
Grant appeared via videolink at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a single charge of assault at HMP Inverness on January 10 of this year.
Assault victim kept cellmate awake
Fiscal depute Emily Hood said that on the morning in question both men were in the cell at HMP Inverness and Grant was complaining about the other man “keeping him awake at night”.
She said Grant was asking for a change of cell.
As the pair argued the cellmate began to make a cup of coffee and tried to apologise to Grant.
Ms Hood said: “The accused punched him to the face, knocking the witness unconscious.
“The witness came to an unknown time later, noting his face was covered in blood from his nose.
“The accused apologised to the witness and proceeded to make him a coffee.”
Prisoner admitted assault
The cellmate realised he had a “large gash” to the right side of his nose and pressed an emergency button.
A staff member came to the cell and found the cellmate standing with a bloodied towel on his face.
Once the cellmate had left, Grant was asked what had happened and told the staff member that he had punched him.
Solicitor Mark Robbin, for Grant, told the court that his client and the victim had been spending 24 hours together in the cell.
He said the other man was “acting erratically and talking quite a lot” and confirmed his client had requested a cell transfer.
“This was not possible for reasons unknown – they remained in the cell together,” he said.
‘A build-up of pressure’
Mr Robbin told Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald: “There had been a build-up of pressure.”
He said the cellmate was making coffee and Grant was “slightly concerned” that the man had the kettle in his hand with hot water, although he conceded there was no indication that the man intended to use it in any way other than stated.
Mr Robbin said: “Mr Grant is a powerful man, a strong built man. The injury was made worse because he is physically capable. There was no weapon used.”
He added: “He apologises for his behaviour and understands that this was no way to resolve the complaint that he had – he was overwhelmed by pressure and he apologises for that.”
Noting Grant’s previous convictions for violent offences, Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald jailed him for 10 months, backdated to September 26 of this year.