Jail warning after behaving like ‘wild animal’
A MAN from Lerwick who bit another man’s nose so forcibly that a large part of it was left hanging off has been warned that he could face a jail sentence.
Grant Harries, of 5 Browns Road, pleaded guilty to knocking a man to the ground, repeatedly punching him on the head, gouging his eyes and biting him on the face at Lerwick Boating Club, on Commercial Street, on 6 September.
The assault left the victim severely injured and with permanent disfigurement.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday that 26 year old Harries had been “drinking to excess” while in the company of the victim.
He started getting angry towards the complainer, but there was no apparent basis for his behaviour, Mackenzie said.
It was more of a “drunken misunderstanding that the accused devised in his head,” the fiscal continued.
When the victim was leaving the premises, he made a comment suggesting that Harries needed to sort out his “issues”.
Harries then “immediately launched an unexpected assault” and struck the victim, who fell to the floor.
He lay on top of the man “face to face” and punched him on the head.
“Almost incredibly”, Mackenzie said, Harries started gouging the man’s eyes before biting him on the nose without letting go.
People heard the crunch of cartilage being torn, with the attacker nearly taking the whole nose off before onlookers managed to pull him away.
“It was truly the action of someone behaving like a wild animal”, the fiscal added.
A “large part” of the victim’s nose was left hanging off, with five stitches required. The man now has a permanent scar, while he also suffered bloodshot and blackened eyes and scratches to the head.
Harries later told police that he had no recollection of the incident due to intoxication.
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Defence agent Tommy Allan said his client acknowledged the seriousness of the offence.
Sheriff Philip Mann warned Harries that, while he will maintain an “open mind”, he was considering jail as a punishment.
The case was deferred until 3 August for a social work report to be prepared. Bail was continued.
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