News / Pushed down stairs
TWO young men who assaulted another man by pushing him down a staircase and kicking him to his injury have been given unpaid work to complete.
Alistair Birse, of Hillhead, Lerwick, previously pled guilty at Lerwick Sheriff Court to assaulting the man at an address on the town’s North Road on 20 February by pushing him down a flight of stairs.
Nineteen year old Connor Millar, of Scalloway’s Port Arthur, also admitted punching the man on the head and repeatedly kicking him on the head and body to his injury.
At Lerwick Sheriff Court on Tuesday, procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the two men, who had been drinking, helped remove the “unwanted” victim from a gathering in Lerwick.
He said 23 year old Birse pushed the man down some stairs before Millar assaulted him while he was on the ground.
As a result of the incident, the man suffered a dislocated shoulder and two lacerations on his head 3cm and 2.5cm long, which needed five stitches.
Birse’s defence agent Tommy Allan said it wasn’t his client’s intention to push the victim down the staircase, which contained six steps.
Millar’s defence solicitor Gregor Kelly said his client believed the victim came looking for “trouble”.
However, he has “extreme shame and guilt” over causing injury to the man, Kelly added.
Sheriff Philip Mann said it was a “great pity” that the two young men hadn’t stopped when they achieved their “objective” of removing the unwanted guest.
He said alcohol was a “factor” in the offence, but not something which condoned the behaviour.
The sheriff gave both men 150 hours of unpaid work to complete and fined Millar an extra £500.
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