A LERWICK teenager who admitted assaulting a girl, a taxi driver and a police officer after drinking too much was placed on probation at the town’s sheriff court on Thursday.
Aidan McAlister, of 7 Grodians, grabbed the girl’s hair and threw her to the ground before pouring beer all over her in a bedroom following an argument during a party on 31 October last year at a house in Nordavatn.
The court heard the girl’s dress was ripped, her arm was bruised and she was distressed and humiliated by the incident, though he apologised to her the following day.
Two months later on 22 December, the 18 year old was drunk after a works Christmas do when he pushed and punched a taxi driver on the head on Lerwick’s Victoria Pier and later lunged at a police officer.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said McAlister had asked the taxi driver to take him, his friend and his dog to his mother’s house, but the driver had “politely” declined because he was allergic to dogs.
The young man immediately started striking the car, and when he refused to stop, the alarmed driver got out of his car to try and calm him down.
“He approached the accused with both his hands held up in front of him in an effort to calm the situation. Witnesses who saw this were firmly of the view that the taxi driver was doing all in his power to diffuse the situation,” Mr Mackenzie said.
Instead McAlister pushed and punched the man, who called the police. Within half an hour two officers were at McAlister’s front door where they found him “very drunk and highly agitated”.
The fiscal said that despite the officers being much larger than him, McAlister “launched himself” at one of the policemen without any warning, and threatened to harm the police, the procurator fiscal and the sheriff.
“He clearly seems to have a problem with his behaviour when he’s drinking and more precisely his levels of anger,” Mr Mackenzie said, though he added that no one had required medical attention after the assaults.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said McAlister accepted there was no excuse for his behaviour and realised he had to tackle his drinking and his anger, adding that his client was about to complete a four year apprenticeship.
Sheriff Graeme Napier placed him on probation for 12 months and ordered him to carry out 80 hours of community service, as well as paying £150 compensation to each of his victims.
The sheriff added: “You don’t enamour yourself to the courts if you go round threatening to do harm to the prosecutor and sheriff, as you did in this case.”
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