A violent machete attacker who launched a life-threatening assault on a man in Glenrothes has been jailed for three years.
Lee Mullen, 24, used a Young Scot card to buy the deadly weapon from a local shop before attacking on Scott Napier at a house in Cullen Drive on July 26 last year.
He wrongly accused his victim of a break-in and then hacked at him with the blade – more than a foot-long – cutting an artery and leaving him wounds on his arm and body.
He and an accomplice, 18-year-old Josh King, then fled.
Judge Lord Tyre told Mullen: “You have pled guilty to a very serious and premeditated assault which endangered the victim’s life and left him permanently scarred.”
Mullen would have faced a four and a half year sentence but for his guilty plea.
Mullen and King earlier admitted attacking Mr Napier to his permanent disfigurement and the danger of his life.
Mullen was told he will be supervised for 12 months following his custodial sentence.
King was ordered to be detained for three years and was also placed on a 12-month supervision order.
The attack
Advocate depute William Frain-Bell told the High Court in Edinburgh Mullen purchased the 40-centimetre-long machete from Aladdin’s Cave in Leslie on the day of the attack.
The prosecutor said: “Lee Mullen was asked to produce a form of identification in order to purchase the machete.
“The accused then produced a Young Scot card, which contained his home address and date of birth.
“After producing the identification, the accused gave some more personal details and these were recorded in the shop’s knife register.”
Mullen met up with King and the pair went to the victim’s house.
When Mr Napier answered the door, King wrongly accused him of breaking into his sister’s home.
Mr Napier denied the allegation but was then “repeatedly struck with force” with the machete.
The attackers left the scene leaving the victim to shout on neighbours for help.
Badly injured
When police arrived they found Mr Napier in need of urgent medical treatment, with an injury to his left forearm and a wound underneath a collarbone.
Doctors found the victim had sustained an “arterial bleed” in the machete attack and also suffered muscle and nerve damage.
Iain Paterson, for Mullen, said: “He appreciates the link between substance misuse and alcohol misuse and his offending.
“He appreciates the harm he has caused to the complainer and he apologises for that.”
Mr Paterson said Mullen had a fall-out with his partner and went on “a drinking spree for a number of days” before the offence was committed.
Defence solicitor advocate Gordon Martin said King accepted it was “a nasty incident”.
He said the teenager appeared to be trying to make something of himself while in custody and has taken up educational opportunities.
