A pair of Dundee men have been jailed after an attack in which a total stranger was brought to the ground and bottled.
The victim remains unknown as he never reported the brutal assault outside Fat Sam’s on June 21 last year.
However, a technician working at the club spotted the altercation on CCTV and alerted police.
Robbie Bruce, 27, was seen smashing a glass bottle over his victim’s head as he was on all fours following an attack by co-accused James Anderson.
Both men were brought from prison to Forfar Sheriff Court to admit assaulting the stranger.
Bruce was locked up for 27 months, while Anderson, 46, was imprisoned for eight months.
Caught on camera
Fiscal depute Michael Dunlop explained Bruce and Anderson were spotted on Fat Sam’s security footage at 3.30pm on South Ward Road .
A technician at the club watched as they “chased” their victim on the cobbled road.
Anderson attacked the stranger first, kicking him on the body before punching him on the head.
The man fell to the ground and Bruce was seen smashing the glass bottle over his head.
Both then walked away towards Johnston Street while their victim got up and walked off in the direction of Lidl.
The recording of the incident was passed to police and the attackers were arrested.
Blade claim
Unemployed father-of-three Bruce was homeless at the time, having been evicted from Salvation Army hostel accommodation.
He was on three bail orders.
His solicitor Brian Allison said: “Just before… the complainer had taken from his person an item which Mr Bruce believed to be a bladed item.
“While Mr Bruce tells me he was scared when he saw the item, what he then did was the wrong reaction.
“He had the bottle with him, he hadn’t gone looking for it.
“He used that during the course of the brief assault.”
Mr Allison said the CCTV footage backed his client’s claims.
He also said the victim had made derogatory remarks about a woman the men were with.
He urged Sheriff Krista Johnston to free Bruce, who has been on remand, so he can look after his grandmother.
‘Quick incident’
Linda Clark, appearing for Anderson after he pled guilty to reduced charges, said: “There had been some words exchanged with the unknown complainer prior to the assault taking place.
“I think it’s a very quick incident. It’s over in a matter of minutes.
“The complainer seems to leave the area, the two accused move on, that’s the end of it.”
Anderson, of Drumlanrig Drive in Dundee, has a criminal record described by the sheriff as “terrible.”
Sheriff’s ruling
Sheriff Johnston backdated Bruce’s sentence to June 23 last year, when he was first remanded.
She told him: “It’s clear from the CCTV that you struck the complainer with some force at a time when he was retreating from you.
“You used a weapon, a bottle, and it may have caused very serious injury.
“This was, in my opinion, a violent and cowardly attack by you.
“The matters are aggravated by bail orders.”
She told Anderson: “You have a much worse record.
“You’ve been dealt with at the High Court previously.
“You are in a different position because the Crown has accepted a plea to a much reduced charge.”
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
