Footwear row at Inverness nightspot Johnny Foxes ends in three-figure fine
Doormen at a popular Inverness nightspot refused a patron entry because his boots were too big.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that security staff at Johnny Foxes had been told to deem reinforced boots as "weapons".
A supervisor, 49-year-old Calum Murray, told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his colleagues had experienced injury and damage to property because of kicks by customers.
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Mr Murray said that 20-year-old Lewis Fitzgerald, of Cook Drive, Inverness had been barred from going into the bar on July 20, 2023 because of his footwear.
"He came down the steps and we refused him entry because we don’t permit reinforced boots in the premises. We regard them as weapons.
"There was a lengthy to and fro between us lasting 10 or 15 minutes and we eventually had to use physical force to remove him from the site. There was a bit of struggling going on as he was trying to break free from our grasp."
Mr Murray claimed he had been spat on but he admitted he did not know who had done it.
Fitzgerald had denied assault and threatening or abusive behaviour but after hearing from Mr Murray, his not guilty plea to the spitting was accepted and he admitted the disruptive behaviour.
Defence solicitor John MacColl conceded: "The door staff were only doing their job and my client didn't take a telling."
Fitzgerald was fined £320.
