Gang jailed for 47 years for attempted murder in Musselburgh

An armed gang who hunted a man down in the street at Hogmanay in a brutal attempted murder were jailed for a total of 47 years today.

Rhys Reynolds, 26, was chased by a pack of pursuers and put to the ground before being attacked with knives, a metal pole and a rock or paving slab.

He suffered 36 injuries including multiple wounds and facial fractures as well as bleeding to the brain.

He was repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on in addition to being assaulted with weapons during the murder bid at Delta Drive, Musselburgh, in East Lothian, on December 31 last year.

Aaron Thomson, 20, and Dillin Armstrong, 24, were each jailed for 10 years for the attempted murder, when they appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh today.

Dean Riding or Renton, 22, and Kane Reilly, 18, were each sentenced to eight years for the offence and a 16-year-old first offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to seven years detention.

Thomson, Armstrong, Reilly and the 16-year-old were all found guilty of attempted murder following a trial last month. Riding had earlier pled guilty to the murder bid and was the only one convicted of striking the victim with the rock or paving slab.

A sixth accused, Jayson Dodds, 19, was acquitted of attempted murder but found guilty of assault to injury and he was jailed for four years.

All of them were given further three year periods of supervision after their custodial terms for the protection of the public.

A judge told them: "The only difference between murder and attempted murder is that death did not result. What you have done is an outrage."

Gordon Liddle pointed out that the jury was repeatedly shown graphic footage of the crime which he condemned as "a cowardly and vicious assault".

He said that five of them had pursued Mr Reynolds, with Dodds arriving later armed with a metal pole, before he fell and was subjected to a savage attack.

The judge said it finished with Riding or Renton picking up the rock or slab and throwing it down on the victim "in what appears to be an attempt to finish him off".

"Eyewitnesses repeatedly said they thought Rhys Reynolds was going to die. He is fortunate to be alive," he added.

The judge told them during a heavily policed sentencing hearing that background reports prepared on them repeated a story of troubled backgrounds and difficult upbringings.

But he added: "Well, let me tell you not everyone who has a troubled background or difficult upbringing ends up being the sort of thugs you are."

The judge told the 16-year-old that he was imposing an extended sentence of detention and further supervision on him as the public required to be protected from the "callous disregard" he had for the welfare of others.

He told Thomson, who has previous convictions for assault and public disorder, that he was clearly "a violent individual".

The judge said it was "perhaps almost inevitable" that his violent disposition and disregard for others would result in a murder or attempted murder charge.

He told Armstrong, from Haddington, that he had "an appalling record", involving 18 offences over seven years.

The attack occurred after a disturbance at a flat in Musselburgh and part of the chase and horrific murder bid was caught on CCTV which was shown during the earlier trial.

One witness told police: "If you don't get here quick someone is going to be dead."