A Dundee knife raider wearing a ski mask attempted to raise cash for an alleged drug debt by trying to mug the man he owed money to, a court heard.
Stuart Heenan confronted the man as he returned home after walking his dog, saying: “I want your money”.
But his victim and a friend chased 32-year-old Heenan into Lochee library where he was found by police being pinned against a wall.
Heenan was jailed for almost three years on Monday after admitting committing the assault in September last year.
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told the court that Heenan had approached the complainer wearing a ski mask and brandishing a knife and the two men had struggled.
Heenan ran off and was chased by the complainer and his friend. Heenan was punched by the man’s friend several times before a policeman heard the disturbance.
Heenan later told officers: “I was only trying to fleg (scare) him.”
George Donnelly, defending, said Heenan was a heroin addict who claimed he was buying the drug from the complainer on a weekly basis.
Mr Donnelly said his client allegedly owed the complainer £50 and the man and his friend had threatened him with violence if he did not pay up.
Mr Donnelly said Heenan had paid off £20 but was told the whole debt needed to be cleared, resulting in the “madcap scheme” of trying to mug the complainer.
Sheriff Alastair Brown asked: “So in effect, he was robbing Peter to pay Peter?”
Mr Donnelly replied: “Yes, and to ensure Peter and Paul did not come to his door.”
The court heard there was no evidence that the complainer was actively dealing drugs and Sheriff Brown said he was “entitled to his innocence”.
The sheriff told Heenan: “Irrespective of the nature of the victim, anyone who attempts a robbery at knifepoint will go to prison for several years.
“It is almost impossible to imagine circumstances to depart from that.”
Sheriff Brown jailed Heenan for two years and eight months for the assault and a further three months for a breach of bail.