A remorseless Dundee criminal who robbed a man in a graveyard then raided a shop two days later has been given a life sentence.
Michael McDougall was given the indeterminate sentence by Judge Lord Uist, who said the thug’s outlook on life was the ”bleakest” he had ever read.
McDougall (27) assaulted and stole £300 from Grant Coutts, after discovering he had just been to the post office to collect benefits.
The robbery took place after he persuaded Mr Coutts to go with him to the Howff cemetery in Dundee to visit McDougall’s daughter’s grave.
Two days later, McDougall raided a Mace store in the city’s Constitution Road and held a knife to the face of an 18-year-old assistant, forcing her to hand over £584 and a carrier bag full of cigarettes and tobacco.
The 90-second attack was captured on CCTV and McDougall was identified and arrested the following morning.
He told police he had no regrets about the harm he caused his victims, adding: ”The fags were good. The money was good as well.”
McDougall, described as a prisoner at Perth, admitted carrying out both assaults and robberies in March this year.
At an earlier hearing, prosecution lawyer John Scullion told the court of the cemetery attack.
”As soon as they arrived at the cemetery, the accused punched the complainer on the face and tried to pull the wallet out of his hand,” he said.
”A pen was held to his throat. In the course of the struggle, the accused pulled the wallet from the complainer’s grasp.”
Mr Scullion then told the court McDougall robbed the shop in Constitution Road two days later.
Lord Uist said a background report about McDougall’s outlook on life was the ”bleakest” statement about an offender he had ever read.
At the High Court in Kilmarnock, the judge imposed a lifelong restriction order on McDougall, backdated to July.
Lord Uist set the punishment part of the sentence at two years and eight months, after which McDougall could be considered for release, but he cold face life behind bars.
The Courier went to The Mace store but the manager did not wish to comment, as he was not in charge at the time.
He said the 18-year-old was also unwilling to comment.