A man previously jailed for a machete attack on a Dunfermline shopkeeper has avoided further prison time after throwing a knife at his bed-ridden mother.
Samuel Craig narrowly escaped imprisonment after a sheriff was convinced he had been provoked.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard Lynne Craig had thrown the knife at her son in an argument over a sandwich.
However, when he hurled it back at her it struck her face, causing her to bleed.
Sandwich row
Fiscal depute Laura McManus told Dunfermline Sheriff Court: “At the time Mrs Craig had suffered a broken hip so she was effectively bed-bound.
“At some point the accused had made her a sandwich and brought it to her.
“The accused went into the kitchen to obtain a knife.
“When the accused places the sandwich on the bed there’s an argument because sauce was smeared on the bed clothes.
“She has shouted and thrown the knife at the accused and it has landed near his feet.
“He threw it back at her. It struck a glancing blow to the head, which left it bleeding. ”
Ms McManus said police were called and Craig had immediately apologised.
His mother also told officers she did not believe he had meant to harm her.
Prison sentence considered
Solicitor Zander Flett, defending, said the knife had been small.
He said: “It clearly wasn’t a machete.
“It was smaller, about the size of a cutlery knife.
“He made her a sandwich and she shouted that she couldn’t eat it as it was not cut.
“She threw the knife at him in a fit of pique.
“He, without thinking, threw it back. He did not intend it to hit her.”
He said Craig carried out caring duties for his mother due to her long-term issues.
Craig, 28, of Law Road, Dunfermline, admitted culpable and reckless conduct at an address in Dunfermline on April 24.
Sheriff Alastair Brown said: “When I read your record and saw you had been convicted in the High Court of assault using a machete and saw you were charged with throwing a knife, I was thinking of eight months imprisonment.”
He said he accepted Craig had not meant to harm his mother and had apologised immediately.
He placed Craig on a 12-month supervision order.
Previous crimes
In 2014 Craig and accomplice Kieran Pearson were jailed for a raid at Omar Groceries in Alexandra Street, in which they slashed the shopkeeper with a machete.
Sakander Riaz fought back and chased the duo despite being hit and slashed 13 times
The assault left him permanently disfigured and unable to use the fingers on his right hand.
Earlier this year Pearson was jailed for his part in two separate robberies, including one in which he was marched from the shop at the point of his own “gun”.
Zaheer Uddin Babar believed he was going to be shot after Pearson attempted to raid the Spar store in Dunfermline’s Townhill area.
But he was able to wrestle the weapon, which later turned out to be fake, from the 28 year old.
