Alness abuser jailed after early-hours attack on former partner
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A 79-year-old woman was pushed to the floor when she intervened to stop a man viciously assaulting her daughter.
This was heard at Tain Sheriff Court, as Ian Docherty (44) of Firhill, Alness, was jailed for nine months.
Docherty, who appeared by video link from custody, had been remanded at an earlier appearance in the same court when he admitted the assault to injury against the daughter and assault on the mother in her own home in Westford, Alness, last December 5.
Fiscal Shamilla Ghafar described to Sheriff Neil Wilson this week how Docherty and the daughter, who were in a relationship at that time, had argued before he seized her by the hair and hit her head against a wall and repeatedly punched and kicked her on the head and body.
The mother bravely intervened and was pushed by Docherty and landed on the ground.
The police were called and later Docherty was arrested, but while being transported to Burnett Road Police Station in Inverness he kicked off against the officers who had detained him.
This led to him also admitting a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour towards the officers, which was racially aggravated by prejudice relating to race and sexual orientation.
The trouble flared in the early hours when Docherty and his partner argued before he suddenly started attacking her. On hearing her screams, the mother left her bedroom and intervened but was sent flying.
Officers who attended the incident saw that the daughter had bruising to her hand and forearm and red marks on her face and neck.
Docherty had left the house but was arrested when he returned in the early hours.
His solicitor Lyndsey Barber told the court that his client had mental health issues which along with alcohol were the cause of his offending. The relationship is now over.
Sheriff Wilson jailed Docherty for a total of nine months on the three charges backdated to December 6, and placed him under non-harassment order regarding the mother and daughter for one year.
