Inverness pair fined after Christmas Day brawl in Thurso street
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"Peace on Earth and goodwill to all men" fell on deaf ears after a drunken fight broke out outside a Thurso house on Christmas Day.
It led to Inverness men Lewis Forbes (31) and 38-year-old Stewart Messetti being charged by police officers.
The pair admitted disorderly conduct and engaging in a fight with John Daniel Begg, who was injured, and committing a breach of the peace. The charge had been reduced from one of assault.
The two accused were guests at a festive party at a house in Thorfinn Terrace, Thurso, on December 25, 2019, Wick Sheriff Court heard on Thursday.
Mr Begg was said to have been drinking for most of the day and was ‘emotional’ about an unconnected family issue from earlier in the day.
Fiscal David Barclay told Wick Sheriff Court that there were “competing accounts” of what had triggered the fight, which occurred after Forbes, of Oldtown Road, and Mezzetti, who lives in Balloan Road, both Inverness, had come outside for a breath of fresh air.
Mr Barclay said: “We may never get to the bottom of how this incident began but it is clear that a fight developed between the three men. A witness summed it up as the three scrapping and hitting each other.”
At one point during the fracas, Mr Begg fell to the ground. Other people heard the commotion and came to help.
The fiscal said: “Mr Begg was seen to have a bleeding lip and some bruising and swelling on his head and body. He also complained of a sore arm.”
Mr Begg also sustained a fractured elbow and discharged himself from hospital after it was treated and put in a sling.
Mr Barclay said that Forbes and Mezzetti were interviewed by the police but other than the fact that the fight had taken place it was impossible to say who did what.
Rory Gowans said that a considerable amount of alcohol had been consumed and recollections were ‘cloudy’. The solicitor added: “Forbes accepts there was an altercation and that he was involved.”
Solicitor Marc Dickson said that Mezzetti had “been in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
Sheriff Andrew Berry fined each of the accused £270.
