A MAN who bit off a stranger's ear then showed the severed part off to passengers on a city bus has been warned he is likely to be jailed.
David Blakey, 22, was on a curfew and electronically tagged when he attacked victim Malcolm Zenati as they were about to board a bus in the Capital in January.
CCTV footage from the bus showed Blakey waving the piece of ear around boasting what he
had done and inviting passengers to take a picture of it.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court today, Sheriff Isabella McColl refused to grant him bail and he will be remanded in custody until sentencing next month.
She said: "The seriousness of this offence cannot be exaggerated. You are very likely to receive a custodial sentence."
Blakey had been released from prison for an assault a month earlier and was supposed to remain at home from 7pm to 7am when he attacked Mr Zenati.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Blakey had been out with friends when he got into an argument and began exchanging punches with Mr Zenati in Leopold Place on January 5.
Fiscal depute Gillian More said: "The accused then bit off a large section of Mr Zenati's ear.
"A witness quite clearly saw the accused at Mr Zenati's head and thereafter saw blood trickling down the accused's mouth.
"CCTV footage shows the accused going upstairs with a piece of ear waving it in front of members of the public and boasting about what he had done.
"Various members of the public reported hearing him saying 'take a picture of this, do you know what this is?'," she said.
Blakey and his friends got off the bus at Abbeyhill, and waited on a taxi, with Blakey still holding the ear.
"He showed it to one of his friends saying 'doesn't this make you feel better'," added Mrs More.
Ambulance crew who arrived at the scene found Mr Zenati sitting on a bench with blood pouring out of the left side of his head and he was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary before being transferred to St Johns' Hospital in Livingston for specialist treatment.
"A good part of his left ear and ear lobe were missing and there was a serrated edge appearing to be teeth marks and the injuries were bleeding profusely," said Mrs More, adding that it amounted to between 50 and 70 per cent of the ear.
The piece of ear has never been found.
Blakey pled guilty to assaulting Mr Zenati, struggling with him and biting off a section of his left ear to his injury and permanent disfigurement.
Defence solicitor Leanne McQuillan said Blakey, who has a son aged three, had been "shocked and disgusted" when shown the CCTV footage.
"The photos are clearly extremely disturbing," said Ms McQuillan, adding that Blakey was now receiving counselling for drugs, alcohol and anger management.
The full article contains 487 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
