A group of men has been cleared by a jury of savagely assaulting two brothers at a Fife industrial yard but one has been convicted of abducting the siblings.
Owen Bonner was found guilty of driving John and Lee Dunsire in a van to the Matthew and Son site in Kirkcaldy, against their will, on April 13 2021.
A trial heard John Dunsire had stolen a quad bike from the yard the night before.
The prosecution alleged the brothers were abducted and beaten up in “retribution” for the theft.
Bonner, 24, was on trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court alongside brothers William and John Matthew, accused of abducting and assaulting the pair.
Brothers battered
The Dunsires gave evidence they were “toyed” with during the attack and struck with a pick axe shaft.
Both needed surgery for broken bones.
A jury found the allegations against the Matthew brothers not proven and they were acquitted.
Defence lawyers highlighted issues with the Dunsires’ identification of their attackers.
Jonathan Crowe, representing William Matthew, 59, suggested Lee Dunsire “buckled” after police came to him saying they had intelligence suggesting the Matthew brothers were responsible.
The Dunsires previously failed to identify the accused in an identity parade. They claimed this was out of fear.
Dewar Spence, representing John Matthew, 63, argued the Dunsires would not have been able to get a proper look at their attackers and suggested they assumed his client was there because it was his yard.
A jury took about three hours to reach their majority verdicts.
A fourth man, Connor Davies, was also accused but the charges against him were dropped during the trial.
All are from the Kirkcaldy area.
Quad bike deal
John Dunsire told the trial he had made plans to sell the stolen quad bike to buy drugs and was picked up, with his brother, by Bonner in anticipation of the deal.
After collecting the stashed vehicle, Mr Dunsire said they were taken to the Hayfield industrial estate before being pulled from the van and set upon.
Lee Dunsire said he thought he would be killed as the men set about him.
He said he saw Bonner punch his brother in the head while in the van and say to him it was “my f***ing quad bike”.
Bonner denied this and claimed he had only taken the Dunsires to the yard for them to return a little girl’s stolen quad bike after another man told him it had been taken.
Bonner said he posted a Facebook appeal and later received a call from someone saying they had been approached by two men offering the stolen vehicle.
He said he phoned the sellers – the Dunsires – and when they met, they agreed to take the bike back to the yard.
Bonner said when they arrived, two men he did not know pulled the Dunsires out of his van and started attacking them.
Sentence deferred
Sheriff Robert More deferred sentence on Bonner until April 19 for the production of background reports.
Bonner, of Kidd Street in Kirkcaldy, was visibly upset as he left the dock after the verdict.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
