A Dundee man who left his wife curled up in a ball after attacking her with a wooden post must complete unpaid work.
Youseff Mohammad repeatedly struck his partner with the implement, making a sickening “whacking” sound, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.
Mohammad admitted assaulting the woman during an argument over money at their Hilltown home in September 2021.
She was left on her living room floor with injuries.
After previously admitting the attack, Mohammad returned to the dock at Dundee Sheriff Court to be sentenced.
He was ordered to complete 225 hours of unpaid work.
The court opted not to impose a non-harassment order.
Shocker
A man who tried to steal live electrical cable from a Fife school has been told he is lucky to be alive. William Adamson caused almost £10,000 of damage and left hundreds of homes without power following the raid at Glenwood High School in Glenrothes. The 40-year-old’s skin was melted onto the wire by the high voltage.
Bloodied knifeman
An intoxicated knifeman who forced teenage boys to flee from him on their scooters has been sentenced.
The boys, aged 13 and 14, feared they were going to be stabbed by bloodstained Murray Prior when he pulled a pair of scissors on them.
But Prior let the weapon slip from his hand and the youngsters took the opportunity to escape.
Prior, 36, was wandering the streets of Tayport with a knife “the length of his forearm” when he initially approached the boys.
He returned to the dock at Dundee Sheriff Court this week to be sentenced after admitting offences dating back to December 2021.
Prior was placed under supervision for a year.
£66 payback
Shamed former politician Natalie McGarry has been ordered to pay just £66 after it was agreed she benefited by more than £55,000 from general criminal conduct. McGarry, 42, from Inverkeithing, was found guilty of stealing £nearly £25,000 from pro-independence charities and the Crown has been seeking money under proceeds of crime legislation.
House crash appeal fails
A man who endangered the lives of a Lochgelly family of five after driving a stolen car into their property and setting it on fire has failed in a bid to have his prison sentence cut.
Michael Reddington, 38, caused an explosion when he ignited the vehicle after colliding with a garage attached to the family home.
Reddington admitted culpable and reckless conduct, endangering the lives of two adults and three young children on February 8 this year.
Lord Arthurson said at the High Court in Edinburgh in June it was “cowardly and despicable offending” and jailed him for seven years, reduced from 10 for his guilty plea.
John Brannigan, lawyer for Reddington, told Court of Criminal Appeal judges the sentence reflected one given for attempted murder but Lord Boyd of Duncansby said the sentence was correct.
“While we accept the charge is not one of attempted murder the fact is that the appellant’s conduct put the lives of a family, including children, in danger.
“It was not impulsive but required a substantial amount of planning.”
In the earlier proceedings, the court heard family members in bed were awakened at about 10.45pm by a loud bang and saw a car on fire in the driveway.
CCTV footage revealed the stolen car was driven at speed towards the house, before Reddington emerged with a cigarette in his mouth and poured petrol inside, lighting it with either the cigarette or a lighter.
He set his own hand on fire doing so.
Lord Boyd said: “Had it not been for the quick thinking of the householder in driving his own car through the closed garage door pushing the burning vehicle away from the house the damage to the property might well have been much more substantial.
“We agree with the sentencing judge that the level of culpability in this case is high.
“For these reasons we do not consider that the headline sentence selected by the sentencing judge was excessive.”
Mr Brannigan also argued his client’s lifetime driving ban was excessive as he would be unable to gain employment as a plumber on his release.
It was reduced to 15 years.
Assaulted five
Michelle Vallance from St Andrews, who attacked a Tesco worker and four police officers, has been placed on curfew and under supervision. She took exception to being told she was banned from the supermarket and went on an hours-long rampage.
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