A 20-year-old Inverness man who escaped from his holding cell with two other men and attacked security staff has been jailed for 18 months.
Michael Stewart punched a female G4S staff member in the face, giving her a black eye, at at Inverness Sheriff Court on March 14.
And yesterday, Stewart appeared at the same court to be sent to jail for his part in the incident.
Stewart, of 134 Glendoe Terrace, appeared for sentence after a background report had been prepared.
His two co-accused, 21 year old Jay Mitchell, who has Elgin and Inverness connections, and 22-year-old Moray man Stephen Burns, had already been dealt with by Sheriff Margaret Neilson.
She jailed Mitchell for three years and Burns for 27 months.
Stephen Burns also pleaded guilty to causing another disturbance in Inverness on March 12 and resisting arrest.
The court was told this offence resulted in Burns’s appearance on March 14 and he had been placed in the same cell as Mitchell and Stewart.
The trio summoned G4S staff to their cell and when one male member of staff responded, Burns pushed him against a wall.
Mitchell and Stewart left the cell and six G4S staff went to deal with the problem. Three members of staff were then punched in the face, one resulting in a 1cm cut which needed to be glued shut.
All three were restrained and forced back into the cell before police were called.
Stewart’s lawyer, Natalie Bruce said her client had got caught up in something which he had not instigated.
“He used to drink to excess and took drugs, but he has not used illegal substances for over a year. He had the misfortune to be placed in a cell with his two co-accused who were older than him and who he did not know.
“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was considerably influenced by his co-accused, who were dominant individuals.”
Sheriff Neilson remarked: “No-one forced him to assault the G4S member of staff and give her a black eye.”
Sentencing him, the Sheriff told Stewart: “Any assault on those working in the justice system is an assault on the justice system itself.
“I accept you were not the instigator and your two co-accused were older and had worse records. But there is no excuse whatsoever for punching a G4S officer. They have an important job to do and must be protected by the court.
“This is an escalation of your offending and I suggest you put your time in custody to good use otherwise you will be spending large parts of your life in prison.”
She backdated the sentence to March 15 when Stewart was remanded in custody.