A binge-drinker has been jailed for 50 months after admitting two brutal attacks and a siege-type incident at his mother’s house.
Cameron Ross, 26, broke his pal’s jaw and eye socket with two punches after the pair got drunk on June 27 2020 and fell out in another friend’s home in Alness.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that his victim has been left permanently scarred after a metal plate had to be inserted to fix his jaw.
Then a year later, on April 24, he and two other men went to a house in Woodlands Brae, Westhill, and Ross fractured a man’s skull with a hammer.
The second of the trio, 53-year-old Stephen Stewart of Bruce Gardens, Inverness, also admitted possessing a knife at the same incident at the same court on Tuesday and was jailed for 14 months, backdated to April 26.
The third man has yet to be dealt with.
‘He only wanted to hurt himself’
Just two days before the April 24 incident, defence solicitor Iain Houston told Sheriff Sara Matheson that Ross fell out with his older brother and went to the family home in Carnarc Crescent feeling depressed.
“He only wanted to hurt himself.” Mr Houston said.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir said Ross armed himself with two knives and threatened to stab any police officer who entered the property.
He then started stabbing himself on his left arm, causing superficial wounds.
Armed police and negotiators were called and Ross eventually gave himself.
But he reacted to police who arrested him, kicked one of them in the groin and shouted, swore and struggled with officers.
Ross admitted a series of charges covering all three incidents, including assaulting the hammer victim to the danger of his life, and punching his friend to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment.
‘He has a binge drinking problem’
He also pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour, resisting arrest, police assault and possessing a hammer.
Mr Houston told the court that Ross wanted everything to be dealt with and to go to jail.
“He has a binge drinking problem and he says it is a problem only he can tackle,” he said.
“He intends to seek help in the prison system to overcome this.”
Mr Houston explained that Ross, of Galloway Drive, Inverness, had an ongoing family feud with the hammer victim but can’t remember what caused it.
“There was no life-threatening injury … but what my client did was extremely dangerous.”
With regards to the attack on his friend, Mr Houston added: “It was a crazy situation where two good friends got hopelessly drunk and horseplay resulted in serious injury.
“They remain friends. But he knows he has to sort himself out or he will do something really serious resulting in a sentence of double figures.”