A man has been jailed after a vicious assault at a city cashpoint.
Jonathon Sinclair knocked his victim to the ground with a punch and later kicked him in the face.
The man was left with cuts and bruises following the attack outside a Merkinch convenience store.
Sinclair, 37, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to plead guilty to a single charge of assault to injury relating to the attack on November 10 last year.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir told the court that the victim had walked from his home to the convenience store on Lochalsh Road and had just put his bank card and PIN into the cash machine outside when he was blindsided by Sinclair.
Cashpoint assault knocked man to ground
“He has felt a punch to the right side of his face, which caused him to fall to the ground,” Mr Weir said.
“He has then been aware of the now accused Jonathon Sinclair on top of him throwing punches to his face.”
At one point the pair separated and the complainer noticed he had dropped his mobile phone, but as he bent to retrieve it Sinclair kicked him in the face.
When Sinclair headed towards the cash machine, which still had the man’s card in it, his victim left the scene and headed to the Post Office on the opposite side of the street and police were contacted.
The complainer had a cut under his left eye, a cut to his left cheek and bruising and swelling to his face.
“He did not seek medical advice at the time of the incident although an ambulance was contacted for him,” Mr Weir said.
Solicitor Graham Mann, for Sinclair, told the court his client and the complainer were known to each other.
Defence: ‘Issue’ led to fight
He said: “The background seems to be that there had been an issue between the two of them.
“My client’s position seems to be that something has been taken from him. He has seen to the complainer and taken that opportunity.”
Mr Mann said the pair had engaged in a fight, but his client had gained the advantage.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald told Sinclair: “I’ve been given no reason why you actually committed this assault. It was a serious assault to injury.
“You have analogous previous convictions.
“There is no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence.”
She sentenced Sinclair, whose address was given as a prisoner in Inverness, to 11 months backdated to November 14 of last year.
