Inverness man jailed after throttling woman and striking her with a bottle
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A SELF-EMPLOYED joiner who tried to throttle a woman and repeatedly struck her on the head with a bottle has been jailed for two years at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Brian Peach, formerly of Ardness Place, Inverness was originally charged with attempted murder but faced trial before a jury last month on a reduced charge of assault to severe injury and danger of life.
He was found guilty of the offence which occurred in a house in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on September 20, 2021.
Peach always denied that he seized his victim by the throat, compressed it, restricting her breathing, repeatedly struck her on the head and body, placed a foot on her head, stood on her head and repeatedly struck her head with a bottle.
He has been remanded in custody since the following day of the attack and his sentence was backdated to September 21 by Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald.
The 35-year-old also appeared for sentence on convictions for drink-driving, drug-driving and child assault, and was banned from driving for 43 months.
In addition, the sheriff placed Peach under 18 months of social work supervision when he is released within the next few weeks.
On December 26, 2020 he assaulted a 12-year-old boy by squeezing his fingers and bending them back in a house in Inverness.
His defence solicitor Graham Mann said his client was on a “downward spiral with alcohol and drugs playing a part”.
He added: “He was in the company of the boy’s father, there was something of a fight between them and the young boy took hold of his mobile phone.
“He tried to grab it off the boy and this has happened.”
The court heard that on June 28, 2021, Peach had been driving his car along Drumossie Brae when he went off the road and on to a verge.
Police breathalysed him and he was found to be almost three times the legal limit. His reading was 57mcgs when the limit is 22mcgs.
On October 30, 2021, police stopped Peach’s BMW on the A96 outside Inverness at about 7.10pm because he had been revving excessively at a roundabout.
A cocaine test proved positive and his reading was 800mcgs of the class A narcotic when the safe driving limit is 50mcgs.
