Pensioner Attacked Woman with Plank After She "Annoyed" Him
An angry old man has been told to stay out of trouble for six months after he attacked a woman half his age with a plank of wood because she annoyed him.
An angry old man has been told to stay out of trouble for six months after he attacked a woman half his age with a plank of wood because she annoyed him.
Belligerent James Laughlan was ordered to behave until March next year and save £80 per month to pay a fine when he is sentenced for the attack.
The 71-year-old was previously found guilty of using a plank of wood to hit Fiona Duncan repeatedly after wrestling her to the ground outside his home.
The pensioner told Perth Sheriff Court he was fed-up with people using the gate at the rear entrance to the block of flats and did not want to let her in to visit her friend.
He told the court: "She wouldn't listen. She was arguing. It was because I wouldn't let her through the gate. I grabbed a pallet block.
"I argued with her and picked the pallet up to hit her. I did go to hit her with it on the side of the head. She's not a person you can deal with."
Fiscal depute Stuart Richardson said: "He seems to think it's acceptable, even by his own evidence, to pick up a piece of wood and strike someone with it just for coming through the garden gate."
Despite having a history of heart problems, emphysema, and needing an asthma inhaler prior to giving evidence, Laughlan was found guilty of the vicious attack on 22 February last year.
Laughlan, from Perth, was found guilty of attacking and Miss Duncan, 36, by knocking her down and repeatedly striking her head and body with his fists and a block of wood.
Sheriff Fiona Tait said she did not believe his version of events that he had been attacked by Miss Duncan and had been punched several times by her.
He claimed she had sat on his ankles because she was "stronger than me" and rained blows on him, but the sheriff said she preferred the evidence of the Crown witnesses.
The sheriff then warned the grumpy pensioner about his behaviour in the court as he mocked the guilty verdict and said he would be "taking the case further."
Sheriff Tait said: "I'm afraid I don't accept the evidence you've given. This is a court and we have shown courtesy towards you. Please do not be disrespectful and bear that in mind for the next occasion."
Miss Duncan told the court: "I thought as we were both adults he would move to the side and let me in to see my friend, but it didn't happen like that.
"He was there with a stick to hit me. He had his hands round my neck. I was in shock. I didn't expect an old man to attack me.
"I was on the ground and he was on top of me. I knew his glasses came off. He was on the floor, out of breath. Since then he's tried to intimidate me."