Jail for Lybster man over metal spike assault and axe threat
A Lybster man has been jailed for eight months for an attack on a neighbour.
David Richards (63) admitted, on indictment, having assaulted a man with a metal spike and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards a woman by shouting and waving an axe at her.
The incidents occurred in Shelligoe Road, Lybster, on June 5, 2022, Wick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday.
Solicitor Natalie Paterson said that although Richards committed the offences while under the influence of alcohol, he had conquered his addiction and had not drunk since December 2023. She suggested a community-based sentence as opposed to a custodial one.
However, Sheriff Neil Wilson, who saw a background report, conceded that Richards’ record was of some age but added: “Prison for a weapon assault such as this is inevitable.”
Richards, of Shelligoe Road, Lybster, was further sentenced to three months on the axe charge and the same number for having an offensive weapon – the metal spike – both to run concurrently with the assault. This means the accused will serve eight months behind bars.