Drunk partygoer bound and gagged after entering darkened Edinburgh flat

James Tulloch arrived at the flat in Edinburgh looking for a party but found the home to be in darkness at around 4.30am on July 29 this year

After shouting out Tulloch and pal Damon Frail were then confronted by angry householders Dumitri Pinzari and Andrezs Fatejeus who immediately threw Frail out the front door.

Tulloch, 34, began struggling with Mr Pinzari but was soon subdued by the two men and wrestled to the floor.

Police were called and arrived 30 minutes later to find Tulloch with heavy-duty tape over his mouth and his hands and feet taped up.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard he had also suffered “severe injuries” and there was blood splattered on the carpet and walls.

Tulloch and Frail, both from Edinburgh, appeared at the capital’s sheriff court via video link from HMP Edinburgh where they were both jailed after admitting separate offences.

Fiscal depute Anna Robertson said both had been drinking and arrived at the flat at the city’s Royston Mains Avenue after receiving a text from a woman telling them there was a party ongoing.

They found the door to the home was unlocked and let themselves in only to find the home in darkness.

They shouted for the woman they knew but were met by Mr Pinzari and Mr Fatejeus who had been woken from their sleep.

Frail, 31, was grabbed by the collar and thrown out while Tulloch began shouting and swearing before he got involved in a struggle with Mr Pinzari.

Frail then began throwing rocks and a chair at the front window causing it to smash.

Police were called out and arrived at the scene at around 5am to find Tulloch bound and gagged and the two men standing guard over him.

Tulloch was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he had to undergo a CT scan and had treatment administered to several cuts and bruises.

Sandra Walker, Frail’s lawyer, said her client was a fathers-of-two and had become “concerned” after his pal was trapped inside the flat and “threw stones at the window to try to get them to stop”.

While Tulloch’s solicitor Eddie Wilson said his client had received “severe injuries” while he was kept inside the property.

He added the walls of the home and the carpet were splattered with blood which was later found to belong to Tulloch.

Mr Wilson said the home owner’s behaviour was “understandable” after they had found two men in their home “having been woken in the middle of the night”.

The brief added the Crown accepted there was “no nefarious nature” to Tulloch and Frail entering the home and that they had simply turned up at the wrong property looking for the gathering.

Sheriff Alistair Noble jailed Frail for five months and handed out a six month custodial sentence to Tulloch. Both jail terms were backdated to July.

Tulloch pleaded guilty to conducting himself in a disorderly manner and did shout, swear and struggle with Dumitri Pinzari and commit a breach of the peace during the same incident.

Frail admitted to wilfully and recklessly damaging property belong to another at the home at Royston Mains Avenue, Edinburgh, on July 29 this year.

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