A man who shattered the tooth of his victim with a vicious punch has been warned he is on his “last chance” as he avoided a prison sentence.
Marc McKay, 27, attacked the man outside the Stead Inn in Aberdeenshire after calling the man “a grass”.
His victim had to pay £2,500 to get the tooth fixed as a result of the assault.
McKay, who has a number of previous convictions for violence, pleaded guilty to the assault on July 12 2020.
Accused called victim a ‘grass’ prior to attack
Fiscal depute Kiril Bonavino told the court that McKay had been drinking with friends in the Stead Inn in the village of Potterton when he followed a male outside to the car park.
He said that McKay then accused the man of having “grassed on his mates” and called him “a grass”.
“The accused then without warning punched the witness with his right fist,” Mr Bonavino added.
“This caused the witness’s right tooth to break in half.
“The two men then left the locus separately.
“The witness had to pay £2,500 for the cost of treatment to fix the tooth.”
‘He has a bad record for assault’
Defence agent Paul Barnett conceded to the court that McKay “has a bad record for assault”.
But added: “Mr McKay fully understands that he has put himself in a precarious position, especially so soon after his last conviction.
“I would ask that he be given the opportunity to work with the social work department as he needs to address the issues that he obviously has.”
Sheriff Donald Ferguson told McKay that he was on his “last chance” as this offence showed he was “not learning his lesson”.
He added: “You have no right to go around wreaking havoc and being a bully for the rest of your life.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Ferguson sentenced McKay, of Overhill Gardens, Aberdeen, to a community payback order with 12 months of supervision and ordered him to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered McKay to pay £2,000 in compensation to his victim.
“This person had had to pay a lot of money and you are going to pay for it – if I put you in prison you won’t be able to do that,” the sheriff explained.
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