A Brechin man has been jailed for a year and his half-brother fined £1,000 after an assault that left another man scarred for life.
Kevin Donaldson and Paul Gerrard, both of Brechin, admitted punching or kicking a man in the street until a “star-shaped hole” was left above his eye.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard the complainer had been out with a friend in Brechin from about 3pm on February 6 2013 before leaving a pub for a nearby takeaway at about midnight.
On leaving the takeaway the complainer bumped into 27-year-old Gerrard, who became aggressive, and the two men argued.
The man’s friend intervened and both parties shouted and swore at each other before the argument was smoothed over.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said the men “made up, shook hands, and gave each other a hug”.
A short time later, 32-year-old Donaldson appeared on High Street and asked the complainer: “Are you the one that’s been squaring up to my brother?”
The court heard Donaldson punched the man on the head, before Gerrard joined in the punching.
Ms Kennedy said some of the blows were to the back of the man’s head. Gerrard then kicked the complainer on the body before a witness intervened and stopped the fight.
Ms Kennedy said the man had blood in his right eye, and paramedics attended to him on the scene. They found a “star-shaped hole” 3cm long and one 1cm wide.
The incident was captured on CCTV and police arrived about 12.30am.
The accused were not traced at the scene and were the subject of warrants.
Appearing for Gerrard, of St Andrews Bridge, defence agent Nick Markowski said his client is an abattoir nightshift manager.
“He asked me to apologise to the court with regards to his behaviour,” he said. “He is aware his liberty is at risk.”
For Donaldson, of Esk Park Terrace, who appeared from custody, solicitor Nick Whelan said his client was not involved in the original fracas and was wrongly advised about what had happened in the initial argument.
Sheriff Kevin Veal jailed Donaldson for 12 months and fined Gerrard £1,000, also imposing an 18-month community payback order with 240 hours of unpaid work.