A Buckie man snapped on a night out after being mocked when he couldn’t pay for a round of drinks because his bank card had been declined.
Connor Duncan’s aggressive reaction on December 19 2021, then aged 20, landed the 22-year-old in the dock at Elgin Sheriff Court.
He pled guilty to a charge of threatening behaviour after a plea bargain was agreed.
Duncan had previously been accused of the more serious crime of assaulting and severely injuring his victim by headbutting him, a charge that was dropped in exchange for admitting the lesser offence.
Fiscal depute David Morton told the court the men weren’t known to each other at the time but both were at Buckie’s Purple Nightclub on Cluny Square during the same day.
Mr Morton explained that the victim had seen Duncan being “unable” to pay for a round of drinks as his card was not working.
“This was the catalyst. It starts out being jovial but deteriorates quickly,” he added.
Mr Morton referred to video evidence from a CCTV camera inside the club.
However, technical difficulties meant the footage was only shown to the sheriff on a Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service laptop.
The wider court was unable to see the recording.
Connor Duncan’s ‘short episode’ in Buckie’s Purple Nightclub to be punished next year
It was also revealed that Duncan had no previous convictions.
After watching the video, Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov asked: “I take it was just this short episode?”
When receiving the response of “yes” from Duncan’s defence agent Stephen Carty, Sheriff Pasportnikov said she would defer sentencing his client until the new year.
Reports required for the next hearing will be produced in the meantime.
Duncan, of Watt Avenue in Buckie, was ordered to return to Elgin Sheriff Court on January 11 2024.
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