A thug who was branded a “caveman” in court has narrowly escaped prison and been ordered to pay £1,500 compensation for breaking another man’s jaw and eye socket.
Darren Addicott, 41, admitted raining punches down on his 23-year-old victim after believing the man was cheating on a girl he knew.
The attack left the man with a fractured jaw which was described at an earlier hearing as being “held together by soft tissue” and he had to undergo specialist surgery to have a metal plate inserted.
The victim had undergone similar surgery previously.
He was said to be still feeling pain occasionally and also suffering the “occasional nightmare” since the attack which took place at a house in Ellisland Drive on November 11, last year.
The pair had eaten dinner together at the house which Addicott prepared, but the latter also opened a bottle of wine and the victim described his attacker as “steaming drunk” before the assault happened.
Addicott’s defence solicitor, Roger Colledge told Dumfries Sheriff Court that the victim was a “large gentleman” who played rugby and had already suffered an injury to his jaw.
He added: “But that doesn’t make any excuse – he’s caused fractures detailed in the charge.
“Mr Addicott prepared dinner that night and accepts he had a quantity of wine which doesn’t seem to have been the best move. Then there was a confrontation.
“This was very much out of character. He had a rough time as a child and was involved with drink and more so with drugs and heavily involved in hardcore drugs for a number of years, but he has turned his life around.”
Mr Colledge told how Addicott had undergone rehabilitation and taken up college courses in plastering and also trained as a painter and decorator and now has a “good going” business.
He said: “There is no drug use and he doesn’t drink on a regular basis.
“He expressed remorse and apologised (to the victim) almost immediately.
“He says if he could turn back the clock ... to that particular day he would not act in the way he did.
“Mr Addicott is very much a traditionalist and would like to apologise man-to-man and look him in the eye.”
Sheriff Scott Pattison said: “I have listened to everything that has been said and read the narrative and it was a significant over reaction and a significant act of violence that left a significant injury.
“But you have not been in trouble since 2013 and it seems to me there’s nothing to be gained from sending you to prison, given the isolated nature of the circumstances.”
He then imposed a two year supervision order on Addicott plus sentenced him to carry out 220 hours of unpaid work to be completed within a year and ordered him to pay £1,500 in compensation to the victim.
Addicott was told his sentences had been discounted for the guilty plea.
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