Town violence getting out of hand
NORTHERN isles sheriff Philip Mann has warned that someone will end up badly hurt if the drunken weekend violence in Lerwick continues.
Speaking after fining a young man £500 for assaulting a man who fell down stone steps in Lerwick’s Quendale Lane on 16 September last year, the sheriff said it was only a matter of time before the town’s “fighting and thuggery” had serious consequences.
On Thursday 19 year old Michael White, of 13 Upper Baila, Lerwick, pled guilty to pushing the man down a flight of stairs, grabbing him by the throat, pushing him against a wall and punching him in the head.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said White had been drunk and involved himself in an argument between two other men, even though it had nothing to do with him.
The fiscal accepted White had not meant his victim to fall down the steps, but then took advantage when he was getting up off the ground to grab and punch him.
He said the victim had previously suffered a head injury and warned that such assaults can go “tragically wrong”.
“Fortunately the complainer suffered no significant injury but there was the potential given the medical history,” he said.
Sheriff Mann said the fiscal was right to highlight the dangers of such behaviour.
He told White: “I just wish that you and those like you would stop drinking to the extent where you behave in this manner and assault people and involve yourself in arguments and situations where you have no right to become involved.
“I am surprised, with the kind of fighting and thuggery that goes on here at weekends when people like you take drink, that more serious things have not happened up until now.
“It’s maybe just a question of time. I hope I am wrong in that, but it’s something that’s a cause for concern.”
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Defence agent Tommy Allan said White had cut down his drinking since the incident because he realised it was causing him “quite a bit of trouble”.
The sheriff said that he was not going to tolerate such violence from White, who might end up in jail if he appeared in court for assault again.
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