Galashiels thug jailed for attack that left man in hospital for two months
Last updated 14th May 2024
A thug from Galashiels who knocked a man unconscious with a "single blow" to the head has today (Tuesday) been jailed for nine months.
Jed Crerar punched his victim on the side of the face in the town's Green Street on the afternoon of March the 18th last year - causing him to fall and bash the back of his head off the ground.
Selkirk Sheriff Court heard his victim spent two months in hospital and six months off work after suffering a bleed on the brain.
Drew Long, prosecuting, said Crerar approached his victim after both had left a nearby pub and began speaking to him "aggressively" - causing his victim some confusion - before carrying out the attack in the centre of the Borders town, which was witnessed by a number of members of the public.
The brute later boasted to one: "I just knocked someone out."
Crerar, who had previously been released on bail to an address in the Balmoral area of Galashiels, was originally charged with striking the man to his permanent impairment and danger of life.
But the Crown accepted a plea to a lesser charge of assault to severe injury.
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His solicitor, Stephanie Clinkscale, said the attack was "out of character" for her client, who she said had "expressed remorse".
She explained Crerar - who's unemployed - had been going through a difficult time personally and drinking to excess, but that he has since significantly reduced his alcohol intake and is deemed a low-risk of reoffending.
Sheriff Kevin McCarron said that, while he suspected the "gravity of the consequences" were unintended, those were the risks Crerar took when he committed the assault.
And he added, in his view, there was no alternative to custody.
The sentence was discounted from 12 months for his guilty plea.
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