A vengeance-seeking thug who mowed down a total stranger in a case of mistaken identity has been allowed to walk free from court.
Aaron Bell dodged a jail term despite knocking over the innocent stranger and thrashing him with a metal bar.
He also smashed into a security guard and attacked a police officer by kicking him several times.
Raging Bell, 32, broke off a festive break with his partner to drive from Glasgow to Dundee to attack the man for talking about him at a party.
A clip of the man talking about Bell to another person in the kitchen at the party was uploaded to social media and then sent to Bell on December 27.
Bell went out in the early hours of the morning to drive to Dundee to find the man and assault him, Dundee Sheriff Court was told.
Battered wrong man
Fiscal depute Lynn Mannion said: “Ciaran Russell was walking home when he became aware of an incident in the street.
“He walked past a vehicle and saw a male, the accused, in the driver’s seat.
“He gestured to the driver to make him aware of the incident but the accused reacted aggressively and shouted.
“The complainer ran towards his home.
“He turned round and saw the vehicle coming towards him.
“The vehicle collided with him causing him to fall to the ground.
“The accused exited the vehicle, with another, and began to assault the victim on the head and body with a metal pole.
“The accused returned to his vehicle and drove off.
“Mr Russell was able to walk home, although he was in a highly distressed state.”
Residents previously told The Courier how there were cries of “you’re going to kill him” as the car was driven into Mr Russell and he was attacked.
‘Mistaken identity’
Solicitor Theo Finlay, defending, said: “He and his partner had been staying over the Christmas period in Glasgow in an apartment.
“Through the night and early hours, a message was sent to him by a friend or family member, of a recording filmed in the course of a conversation in the kitchen at a house party.
“The man in it – a Mr Connelly – became increasingly insulting and abusive in reference to Mr Bell and he made remarks directed towards Mr Bell’s family.
“It was posted on social media and forwarded to Mr Bell at 2 am.
“That set in chain these events.
“He was in a state of anger because of what he had seen in the message.
“That prompted his decision to drive to Dundee.
“He didn’t know the complainer and this was a clear case of mistaken identity.
“He had gone with others to look for Mr Connelly.
“Because the complainer looked at him and then ran, he thought it was Mr Connelly.
“It was a genuine case of mistaken identity.”
Glasgow assaults
The court was told Bell, from Dundee, then drove back to Glasgow and drove into one of the security guards working at the city centre holiday apartment.
Bell admitted assaulting Ciaran Russell by striking him on the body with a car, causing him to fall to the ground, before hitting him several times with a metal pole in Finavon Terrace.
He admitted assaulting Scott Robertson by pushing him on the body in Albion Street, Glasgow, before driving at him and hitting him with a car on December 27 last year.
He also admitted attacking PC Daniel Stirling by kicking him several times on the body in Beauly Avenue, Dundee, on 25 January this year.
Despite the catalogue of violence and a previous warning he was likely to be sent to prison, Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown instead placed him under social work supervision for 12 months.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our dedicated Facebook page.
