Man Jailed For Greenock Murder Bid

A man who carried out a vicious murder bid with a

wheelie bin and a length of wood has been jailed for six

years.

Daniel Downie left his victim with scarring and

life-changing injuries and he now needs help with

day-to-day tasks.

A judge told Downie at the High Court in Edinburgh: "It

is clear from the information which was placed before

me concerning the circumstances of this offence that

you engaged in a prolonged and brutal attack

perpetrated without any meaningful form of provocation."

Lord Turnbull said: "The extent of the violence used was

such that it reached the level of wicked recklessness

necessary for the crime of attempted murder."

The judge pointed out that Downie (43) had previously

been jailed at the High Court in 1995 for six years for

"what must have been a very serious attack"

But he said that Downie had also demonstrated an

ability to lead "a constructive and law-abiding life over a

lengthy period".

He told Downie that he would have faced an eight year

sentence for the murder bid, but it would be reduced

following his guilty plea to the offence.

The judge also ordered that he should be kept under

supervision for a further three years.

Downie earlier admitted attempting to murder Allister

Harron at Mount Pleasant Street, in Greenock, on

August 2 last year

During the attack on the 51-year-old he pushed him

down stairs, kicked him, repeatedly struck him with a

piece of wood, struck him with a wheelie bin and

stamped on its lid causing it to strike the victim's head

and body.

The court heard that on August 1 Downie had invited

several people to his flat in Mount Pleasant Street

where a heavy drinking session went on into the

following morning. Unemployed Downie also took drugs,

including Valium.

Mr Harron arrived at the flat on the morning of August 2

after being invited round by another man, One of the

group later left to buy more drink and returned to find Mr

Harron coming out of the flat with his face covered in

blood.

Downie was pushing him out of the flat and down the

stairs. He picked up a piece of wood lying at the front

door of his home and began repeatedly striking his

victim across the head with it.

Once outside the close Downie struck Mr Harron with

the bin and hit the victim again to the head with the bit

of wood.

A number of witnesses saw the attack and emergency

services were called. Police arrived to find Mr Harron

lying on the ground outside the close bleeding from

head injuries. The wheelie bin was lying on top of him

and the bloodied piece of wood was in the middle of the

road.

Officers saw blood stains leading to the close stairs

and followed the trail to Downie's door. They forced

entry to the flat and found Downie in the hall, topless

and with his hair and face wet.

Advocate depute Shirley McKenna told the court: "He

was unsteady on his feet and appeared to be

intoxicated from alcohol or drugs."

Wet clothing was found in the bath and the washing

machine was on. Downie was taken to Greenock police

station but was assessed as unfit for interview at the

time because of his intoxication.

The murder bid victim was taken to hospital and found

to have a collapsed lung, fractures, cuts and bruises,

He was placed in an induced coma and remained in

that state for about four weeks.

He was let with scarring to his throat and head and has

damage to his left eye. He received treatment for

memory problems and can now only walk with the aid

of sticks.

Defence solicitor advocate Bob Mitchell said Downie

had previously made a conscious decision to make

changes to his lifestyle and sought help to beat

addiction problems.

But he said Downie had later been the victim of a

disfiguring attack which required extensive plastic

surgery and had returned to alcohol and drugs abuse.

He said Downie was not "a lost cause" and had shown

an appropriate measure of remorse.

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