Two men burst into a flat, punched the occupier in the face and threatened him and his partner with a knife before robbing them of hundreds of pounds, Dundee Sheriff Court has heard.
Derek Adam opened the door to the two men and was forced to hold a pillow in front of his face as they threatened to stab him and several other people and demanded money from him, before trashing the flat.
Jamie Lee Ottaway, 31, and James Thomas Gallacher, 33, both prisoners at Perth, face lengthy spells in jail after Sheriff Kenneth McGowan deferred sentence, remanding both in custody.
The court heard that the two burst into the flat at 58 Main Street, Dundee, on August 23 before assaulting Mr Adam and his partner.
They admitted threatening them, brandishing a knife at them, threatening to stab them, damaging fixtures and fittings, and robbing them of a computer games console, two memory sticks, a mobile phone, a wallet and its contents, a lighter and a bag containing a sum of money amounting to £606.
Gallacher also admitted that on August 22, at the Lily Walker Centre, Ann Street, he stole a bank card.
Depute fiscal Trina Sinclair told the court that both men barged into the flat, forcing Mr Adam to retreat into a bedroom.
They threatened him with a knife, shouting: “Where’s the money?”
Gallacher was holding a knife with a black handle and a blade estimated to be around two to three inches long, Ms Sinclair said.
“Mr Adam was screaming at the accused saying not to hurt him and he would get the money. Ottaway went into the living room and shouted: ‘This is a robbery. We’ll stick it in whoever we need to’.”
She added that the accused then began trashing the living room and the kitchen, lunging at the witnesses, who were forced to take evasive action.
Meanwhile Mr Adam had shown them a make-up bag containing more than £600 in cash.
Ms Sinclair told the court that four witnesses were walking on Dens Road near Isla Street when Mr Adam’s girlfriend came up to them, extremely distressed, and telling them she had been robbed.
They went back to the flat and the two robbers were seen leaving. Ottaway was holding the knife and telling the witnesses they “didn’t see anything”.
He then offered cannabis to one of them, telling her not to go to the police. Ottaway and Gallacher were traced by officers in Alexander Street and, following a search, the cash and goods were recovered.
Solicitor Brian Cooney said Ottaway understood the seriousness of the assault and called it a “complete act of madness”.
He said he was completely drunk at the time and “regrets entirely what happened”.
Doug McConnell, for Gallacher, said his client was realistic about what the sentence would be but said he was known to the complainers “to some extent”.
He added that it was “not a house that was chosen randomly” by the accused as he had been there before in the company of a woman who was a drug abuser.
“He had taken Valium on the day and felt he had been due money,” Mr McConnell said, adding, “but he admits he shouldn’t have gone there in the state he was in.”
Sheriff McGowan told both accused: “This is a very serious robbery. You both have appalling records and I want to have some time to think about what sentence I will hand down to you.”
He deferred sentence on both until December 4, remanding them in custody.