A violent thug who tried to flee from court rather than be taken into custody has been jailed for six months.
Kenneth Nicoll vaulted over the dock at Dundee Sheriff Court and attempted to run from the court room.
He was in the midst of a sheriff and jury trial and had just been found guilty of a charge of assault to severe injury.
He had attacked a man at the Asda Milton of Craigie store in Dundee, dragging him from a car, punching, kicking and stamping on his head and body and finally striking him with a glass bottle.
As Sheriff Lorna Drummond told him he would be remanded in custody ahead of sentencing, the 23-year-old is said to have lost it.
As a police officer and G4S security officer moved into the dock to flank him, he attempted to walk out.
He was told he had to stay but then, without warning, he vaulted the dock in “an obvious attempt to escape from custody”.
The police officer grabbed hold of his jumper and was able to pull him sideways and then secure him in a headlock.
After bringing him to the ground, the court security officer was able to secure a handcuff around his right arm.
The jury and sheriff were evacuated from the court room during the incident.
He was subsequently jailed for 18 months for the assault.
Nicoll, described as a prisoner at Perth, admitted attempting to escape from custody on November 16 last year.
Solicitor Kevin Hampton told the court: “He wants to say sorry for his actions.
“This was a complete moment of madness.
“It was an attempt that was always doomed to failure.
“The offence for which he was before the jury was some two years prior and he had been on bail throughout.
“Though he has some past experience of custody, when he was told he was being remanded he lost it.
“He has never done anything like this before. It was an aberration. It was a brief and ill-fated attempt.”
Sheriff Alasdair Brown told Nicoll; “You were not in handcuffs so that the jury did not feel prejudiced by thinking there was reason for you to be handcuffed.
“You took advantage of that to try and escape and that is a significant issue.
“When you jump the dock and try and run away then court staff have to catch you.
“While I am sure that, like me, Sheriff Drummond – before whom you were appearing – does not care a jot about being shown great deference in the court room, when you do this justice is disrupted and the court cannot work.
“That we do care about greatly.”
Sheriff Brown sentenced Nicoll to six months in prison.
