A drunken Fife man who brutally assaulted a student later offered his terrified victim a £500 bribe to drop the charges against him.
Andrew Wood (20) contacted Adam Smith through Facebook, telling him he did “not want to get the jail.”
He urged Mr Smith to drop his allegations of assault in what a sheriff called an “extremely serious” attempt to pervert the course of justice.
At Cupar Sheriff Court on Thursday, Wood’s bid to escape detention went awry as he was sentenced to a total of nearly 14 months behind bars.
Wood, of Mayview Avenue in Anstruther, had been released early from a previous sentence for assault when he launched his “totally unprovoked” attack on Mr Smith.
He admitted repeatedly punching his victim on the head at High Street West, Anstruther, on January 22.
Mr Smith was left with a broken tooth as a result of the assault, which also involved a headbutt to the face.
The court heard how the victim tried to protect his head from the blows before fleeing to the safety of a nearby friend’s house.
However, just eight days later Wood sent Mr Smith a private Facebook message, urging him to drop the allegations of assault.
Depute fiscal Diana MacDonald said Wood and Mr Smith had been drinking in an Anstruther pub, although not together, on the day in question.
“At about 1am after the pub had closed the complainer was in the street chatting to members of staff from the bar,” Ms MacDonald said.Problems”He noticed the accused… and began to feel wary as there had been problems between them in the past.
“The accused was seen to run toward the complainer, shouting: ‘Let’s go’.”
Without any further warning, Wood began to punch Mr Smith on the head.
Frozen with fear, Mr Smith did not try to fight back, instead raising his arms in a bid to protect his head and face.
The depute fiscal described how, moments after bar staff managed to separate the pair, Wood again “squared up” to Mr Smith.
“The complainer said he did not want to fight but the accused headbutted him and again punched him in the head,” Ms MacDonald continued.
“The complainer tried to lift his arms to protect himself and his jacket was ripped off.
“This allowed him to run away. He was chased by the accused but managed to get to a friend’s house.”
Mr Smith reported the assault to the police, who noted he had a broken tooth.
Several days later, as he used a computer at Elmwood College, Cupar, he found a message from Wood.Jail”The message, sent privately over Facebook, read: ‘Adam, if you go to the police and withdraw your complaint I will give you £500 for your teeth because I don’t want the jail’,” Ms MacDonald said.
“The complainer contacted the police and gave them a printout of the message.”
Wood admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice by sending the message on January 30, eight days after the assault.
Solicitor Alan Davie said alcohol had played a “key role” in the initial attack, but he acknowledged that Wood’s subsequent attempt to bribe his victim had been made in the cold light of day.
“Mr Wood is under no illusions that he may well now ‘get the jail’,” the defence agent said.
Sheriff Charles Macnair said, “The attack was wholly unprovoked.
“It was also a repeated assault, continuing after you had been separated.
“The subsequent attempt to bribe a witness to withdraw his complaint so you could avoid going to prison is extremely serious.
“In all the circumstances I have little hesitation in concluding that the only appropriate sentence is one of detention.”
He imposed sentences of 10 months and 121 days in detention.