Jail for woman who tore out partner's hair and bit Inverness police officer
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A woman who attacked her partner and pulled out clumps of her hair after accusing her of being a "grass" has been jailed for two years.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told that 33-year-old Paige Ruddy also spat at police and bit one officer on her arm as they tried to arrest her in a property in Bught Drive, Inverness on February 7 this year.
Ruddy appeared by video link from HMP Greenock and admitted two charges of assault to injury, one of assault and a breach of bail.
Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told Sheriff Sara Matheson that Ruddy and her partner had been together since October 2021.
She said the woman was at home when Ruddy barged in, threw a drink over her and then grabbed her by the throat before hitting her on the head with a table.
"Police were called to the disturbance and could hear a woman shouting for help and screaming from inside," Mrs Gair said. "Officers saw Ruddy pulling her partner's hair and they pulled her out of the property. They all fell to the ground but she (Ruddy) was still holding her partner's hair and she too fell to the ground.
"Ruddy then spat on one officer and attempted to bite her on the arm. She was shouting 'grass' at [her then partner] and then spat on another officer and bit her arm which broke the skin.
"[Her then partner] left refusing to stay in the property claiming Ruddy was trying to kill her."
Mrs Gair said Ruddy was arrested and as she was being placed in the police vehicle, clumps of hair were found attached to her clothes and another in the living room.
Defence solicitor Andrew Reynolds said his client, described as a Greenock prisoner, had been in custody for 149 days.
"She has had addiction problems to opiates for long periods in her life as well as issues with alcohol and valium," he said. "She relocated from Cumbernauld to Inverness but the relationship also had issues with drugs and alcohol.
"It did not go well and ended very badly as we have just heard. She intends to return to the North Lanarkshire area when she is released."
Sheriff Matheson also banned Ruddy from contacting her then partner for five years and backdated the prison sentence to February 7.
