A man from Lerwick who repeatedly struck another man on the head at an address in the town last year has been placed under supervision and given unpaid work to complete.
The victim died just days later, but procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie told Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday that no link had been found between Ross Sutherland’s assault and the man’s death.
Sutherland, of Hoofields, previously admitted assaulting the man at an address on Lerwick’s St Magnus Street on 23 June.
Mackenzie said that the 28 year old, who has a “problem with alcohol”, had been at a gathering with acquaintances before becoming “irate” at the man.
The fiscal said the anger stemmed from how Sutherland thought the man should have “taken the blame” for a drugs offence which saw someone else sent to jail.
Sutherland struck the victim but he should have known that the man, who didn’t defend himself, “wasn’t a fighter”.
The victim died a few days later but there was “no causal link” discovered between the incident and the passing.
Mackenzie added that it was difficult to ascertain the extent of injuries as the man often fell over due to the nature of his lifestyle.
Defence agent Gregor Kelly said others in the “drinking den” at the time were also “irate” at the victim, who received a bloody nose.
However, he said the incident was a “great source of regret” for his client, with the solicitor adding that the assault wasn’t pre-planned.
“He never got the chance to say sorry,” Kelly said.
The defence agent admitted Sutherland had a “very chequered past” and had previously been sent to jail for death by dangerous driving.
However, his last assault conviction was back in 2004 and Kelly said he had seen improvements in his life recently.
Sheriff Philip Mann said he had to be “careful not to overreact” when sentencing Sutherland.
He said he didn’t think he could justifiably send him to jail and instead placed him under supervision for one year and gave him 200 hours of unpaid work to complete.
“We’ll be watching you closely”, Sheriff Mann concluded.
