Two men have been jailed after attempting an armed home invasion-style robbery on a Dundee dad as he put his kids to bed.
Neil Hand, Sean Collins and another man hatched a plot to stage the attack on Duncan Forbes at his home in Dundee’s Aboyne Avenue.
They went to Hand’s father’s home in the Douglas area of the city to pick up balaclavas and headed to Mr Forbes’ home – with Hand instructing Forbes to “grab the weed and cash”.
He had just arrived home with his kids from a wrestling show in the city’s Caird Hall and was settling them for the night when the thugs, armed with a knife, turned up.
They banged on the door and when Mr Forbes opened it Collins lunged at their victim, grabbing him by the neck.
Mr Forbes tried to fight himself free – then noticed the “silver glint” of a knife in Collins’ hand.
He then saw Hand running towards him – also with a balaclava on – as the gang tried to force their way into his house.
At that point Mr Forbes shouted out: “My f*****g kids are in the house.”
That prompted the thugs to “retreat” and make off.
Fiscal depute Charmaine Gilmartin told Dundee Sheriff Court that terrified Mr Forbes had not reported the incident to police out of “panic, fear and concern for his children”.
She said: “The third man told someone else who then reported the matter to the police.
“A statement was then given by that man which implicated the two accused.”
Hand, 29, a prisoner at HMP Perth, and Collins, 26, also a prisoner at Perth, both pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of assault and attempted robbery committed on October 8 this year in Aboyne Avenue, Dundee.
Solicitor advocate Jim Laverty, defending Hand, said: “He accepts full responsibility for this.
“Although he knew Mr Forbes he didn’t know he had children.
“The mention of children during this particular incident appears to have brought it to an end.
“As soon as he heard mention of the children they both retreated.”
Solicitor Carolyn Leckie, for Collins, added: “His record is a serious one for someone who is only 26.
“He has had previous sentences and has struggled when at liberty.
“He went along with Mr Hand’s plan.”
Sheriff Tom Hughes jailed the men for three years and four months each – reduced from five years apiece for their early guilty pleas.
He said: “This is an appalling crime and the courts take a very serious view of people committing robberies while masked and armed.”
