Murder bid pair who mowed down man in South Lanarkshire town jailed

22 year old Danny McCallum and 21 year old James Docherty drove two cars at and trapped John Hutchinson in Strathaven

Published 22nd Jul 2016

A murder bid pair who ran a man down on Christmas Eve in Strathaven have been jailed for a total of 14 years.

Danny McCallum, 22, and James Docherty, 21, drove two cars at and trapped John Hutchinson underneath one before attacking him as he was on the ground.

The pair – along with a gang – attacked their victim, kicking him and smacking him with a wheel brace.

After a trial at the High Court in Paisley, where the men from Larkhall denied the charge, they were convicted of attempting to murder Mr Hutchinson on December 24, 2014 at Viewmount Crescent in the town.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge John Morris QC jailed the men for seven years each.

He told them: “The jury convicted you both of attempted murder, that is trying to kill another human being.

“That as I'm sure you both know because you are not stupid, is an extremely serious offence.”

The men were found guilty of pursuing Mr Hutchinson in two cars and repeatedly driving the vehicles towards him at speed.

They hit him and trapped him underneath one before attacking him, trying to kick him on the head and kicking him on the body and using a wheel brace to hit him on the head to his injury.

Defence counsel Geoffrey Forbes said McCallum is a qualified mechanic who works for his family business.

He said there is “genuine regret and remorse” on the part of his client.

Owen Mullan QC for Docherty told the court: “He appreciates he is where he is and has to deal with matters”.