Barman at Encore Une Fois in Inverness was bitten on chin
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A PUB-goer who bit a barman on the chin after he refused to serve him any more drink has been given a community sentence.
Ashley Watson (26) had been in custody since October last year following the attack on a member of staff at the Encore Une Fois restaurant bar in Young Street, Inverness.
Inverness Sheriff Court had previously heard how Watson and a friend were drinking at the venue on October 19.
They began to become a nuisance at around 9pm and Watson became aggressive when he was told that he would not be served any more alcohol.
Watson threatened to “turn the bar upside down” and told the barman he would “get him” on his way home.
He then leant over the bar and bit him on the chin, drawing blood.
He and his friend were then escorted from the bar and were seen walking in the direction of King Street.
As they passed a parked BMW car, Watson punched the back window, causing it to smash.
The incident was captured on CCTV and he was traced by police a short time later.
The fiscal said that as a result of the assault the barman required to have injections and was given a course of antibiotics to prevent him contracting any blood-borne diseases.
Watson, of Quayside Court, Inverness, later provided a blood sample to confirm the absence of any such diseases.
He pleaded guilty last month to a charge of assault and to damaging the parked vehicle.
Solicitor Marc Dickson said the assault had been a very brief incident and Watson had lashed out at the car in frustration at his own behaviour.
He said that he had been out celebrating the birth of his son and asked the court to take account of the fact that he had now been in custody, on remand, for a considerable period of time.
He also revealed that, during his time in custody, Watson had been tested for Huntington’s disease, a hereditary degenerative brain condition.
“The indications are that he now suffers from the condition which will lead to early mortality,” he said.
Sheriff Margaret Neilson told Watson he had pleaded guilty to a very serious offence, but taking account of the time he had already spent in custody she sentenced him to 300 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He was also placed under social work supervision for two years and ordered to undergo drug and alcohol treatment.
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