A Fife man left his neighbour with an airgun pellet lodged in his lung after shooting him in the neck during a violent rampage.
Alexander Mitchell fired the weapon at Jonathan Kane and hours later, left another neighbour needing hospital treatment after smashing him over the head with a Buckfast bottle.
Mitchell’s air rifle shot was described in court as “potentially life-threatening” and its victim still suffers the effects of the pellet.
Shot in the neck
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Mitchell had bought the .22 air rifle and 12 pellets from his second victim, Stuart Freeman on August 31 or September 1 2022.
Mr Kane was on Croft Crescent, Markinch the following night and Mitchell shot at him from his house.
Depute Fiscal Sarah Wilkerson said: “Mr Kane initially felt dizzy and was struggling to breathe.
“He saw the accused holding a rifle with a scope and the accused ran away.
“Witness Kane then slowly made his way back to his home address.”
His mother noted him struggling to breathe and called an ambulance.
Ms Wilkerson said: “Witness Kane was bleeding from a wound to his neck and was taken by ambulance to the Victoria hospital.
“He later realised he had been shot in the neck.”
‘Life-threatening’ wound
An x-ray established Mr Kane had the metal pellet lodged in his left lung.
Ms Wilkerson said: “It was diagnosed that the injury to the left of his neck was a gunshot wound.
“Ballistic forensic scientist Neil Mackay was consulted and shown the x-ray and he considered it to show a .22 pellet.
“Witness Kane suffered a wound to his neck from the pallet and it had then travelled to his lung.
“This was a serious and potentially life-threatening injury.
“As of May 18, he has not yet had an operation to have the pellet removed.
“He experiences breathlessness when exerting himself.”
Buckfast bottle attack
Meanwhile, Mitchell’s violence had continued into the early hours of September 3, when he was asked to leave Mr Freeman’s property, which he did, taking a Buckfast bottle with him.
However, Mitchell returned and kicked the door open.
Mr Wilkerson said: “The accused began striking witness Freeman on the head.
“He fell to the ground and shouted: ‘Come on man, you’re going to kill me’.
“The accused was shouting things but he could not make out what.”
Police and an ambulance were called.
Mr Freeman was left with cuts to his head, requiring staples, and fractures to his nose and eye socket.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Freeman said he is no longer able to go to the shops alone and suffers flashbacks from the incident.
‘No malice’
Solicitor David McLaughlin, defending, said this was Mitchell’s first offence for violence and offered apologies to both victims.
“He was in the company of Mr Kane prior to the offence.
“He and the complainer had consumed a quantity of alcohol and cannabis and his judgement was significantly impaired as a consequence.
“They have been messing about with the air rifle but at one point when this gentleman was at a distance from him, he took aim.
“There was no malice in that but he accepts it was a deliberate action.
“He wasn’t aiming for the neck.
“This only serves to highlight how dangerous these weapons are and the consequences.”
Lucky not to have killed neighbour
He added: “Mr Freeman is known to Mr Mitchell – he had consumed alcohol with this gentleman.
“He took offence to this gentleman that he thought was coming between him and his partner.
“His position is Mr Freeman took hold of the bottle of Buckfast and he responded by assaulting him in this manner.”
Mitchell, a prisoner at Edinburgh, admitted both assaulting Mr Kane to his severe injury, impairment and danger of life and Mr Freeburn to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement at Croft Crescent, Markinch.
Jailing Mitchell for 42 months, Sheriff Alison McKay told him he was lucky not to have been dealt with in the high court.
“You are very lucky Mr Kane didn’t die.
“If he had you wouldn’t have been in this court.”
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