Two men sentenced after an incident at an Elgin Domino’s where a customer was punched and staff locked a teen inside.
Caleb Bowman, 21, punched a customer’s nose. Joseph Taylor, who is 18, acted erratically. Both created a disturbance, kicking and punching the Domino’s door, and this behavior was “threatening or abusive”.
The court sentenced them. Sheriff Eric Brown was the judge. Bowman got fined £220 and had spent time in jail already, which reduced his sentence.
Taylor received a deferred sentence, with a review in six months. He was shouting and swearing, and he also made threats.
The incident happened at 7 PM on a Sunday in April. Bowman asked the customer about his friend. When the customer said he said nothing at all, Bowman punched him in the nose.
The punch made the customer fall down. He went to the hospital later, where doctors treated his bleeding nose and found no other injuries.
After Bowman punched the man, he went outside. Domino’s staff quickly locked the doors, trapping Taylor inside the store. Taylor started acting strange and tried to escape.
He attempted to climb over the counter to get to the back area. Staff felt scared because Taylor was shouting at everyone, and they did not unlock the doors, fearing Bowman would return.
Staff eventually let Taylor go freely and chased both men briefly. Cops arrived, took statements from the witnesses, and found Bowman and Taylor that night. They read them their rights and arrested them.
Bowman’s lawyer, Stuart Flowerdew, spoke in court. He mentioned Bowman spent 24 days in jail, committed the crime while on bail, and has a “significant record”.
Taylor’s lawyer claimed Taylor panicked and had no bad intentions ahead. It seems Taylor acted badly when locked in.
The judge fined Bowman, and his time in jail lowered the fine. Taylor got a deferred sentence and has six months for good behavior.