Court / Sentence deferred for violent attack on four people

SENTENCE has been deferred on a man who admitted assaulting four people at a Lerwick restaurant on 11 October last year.

Dale Henry, 37, who is on remand at HMP Grampian, appeared via video link to plead guilty to the assaults which took place about 11.30pm on a night out.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that Henry had lost his temper when he saw his partner embracing a man in The Great Wall Chinese restaurant in Lerwick.

According to procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie, Henry punched the man so hard he fell on a table, smashing it.

Two other men intervened and in the struggle, Henry punched one in the head and punched and headbutted the other.

One of the men phoned the police and the three men and a woman hustled Henry into the kitchen.

In the course of this he punched the woman on the head and headbutted the first man, causing him to suffer a cut and permanent disfigurement.

Police tracked Henry to his partner’s house but he refused to let them in. He was arrested and appeared from custody the next day.

Mackenzie said that Henry’s violence had caused considerable alarm to the customers as well as injury to his victims and damage to furniture and crockery.

Worse was the psychological harm caused to one of his victims, the fiscal said.

Gregor Kelly, defending, said that Henry had pulled himself together since being jailed for 52 months for a serious assault in 2011.

The Great Wall assault had been his only “blip” since then, the solicitor added.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank deferred sentence until 13 February to allow him time to consider a social work report.