A man who violently assaulted a Dundee shopkeeper because he could not pay for a breakfast ice lolly has been locked up for years.
Conor MacLeod arrived at the Keystore Xpress on Dens Road just after 9am and turned violent because he did not have enough cash to pay for the frozen treat.
He hurled an advertising board and a broken glass bottle at shopkeeper Ali Raza, as well as flashing a blade.
MacLeod also admitted raids on shops in Dundee and Kirkcaldy, among other crimes.
He was jailed for a total of 34 months.
Dens Road drama
Fiscal depute Christine Allan told Dundee Sheriff Court McLeod arrived at the shop on August 16 last year and brought an ice lolly to the till at 9.10am.
He had no money and Mr Raza – who thought McLeod was under the influence of drink or drugs – told him to put the snack back and leave.
McLeod began to argue and “got into his face,” forcing Mr Raza to back away, before punching him to the left side of his head.
Told to leave again, McLeod took up a fighting stance and began trying to kick the shopkeeper, before repeatedly spitting in his face.
Police were called and McLeod picked up an advertising board and hurled it at Mr Raza, hitting his lower body.
He produced a Stanley knife with a three-inch blade.
A member of the public picked up a broom and confronted McLeod but the violent thug grabbed a broken glass bottle and launched it at Mr Raza.
The brave member of the public charged at McLeod and he finally fled.
McLeod pled guilty to assault.
Petty criminal
McLeod, 27, of Burnside Court, Dundee, admitted further crimes.
Earlier that morning, he had broken into the Co-op on Brook Street, Dundee to steal five bottles of whisky and two scratch cards.
On the night of July 14 2020, at a property in Glamis Road, Kirkcaldy, he ripped a £20 dummy CCTV camera from the wall, breaking it.
Along the road at another house, he sprayed “You’ve been robbed” on a garden summerhouse and cut the cable of the owner’s £8 fairy lights.
Later that night, he broke into the Nisa store on Dollar Crescent and stole booze and cigarettes.
He also admitted breaking into a house in Dallas Drive with the intention of stealing.
Tragic background
Defence solicitor James Laverty said: “His life has been blighted by drug misuse.
“He was spending time in Kirkcaldy in 2020.
“He ended up in homeless accommodation and in a peer group who were a lot older than him, a lot more experienced and were well known to the criminal justice system there.
“He began taking drugs substantially at that particular point.”
Mr Laverty explained McLeod had got back on track after moving in with his father in Newburgh but matters deteriorated when the older man died, leaving him homeless again.
He added: “He is utterly ashamed of himself in relation to these particular offences.
“Mr Raza was in the course of his employment and Mr McLeod’s behaviour that day was fairly lamentable, and he accepts that.”
Particular concern
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael said two years of McLeod’s sentence were for the Keystore assault.
The sheriff said: “The assault charge gives me particular concern.
“This happened when you tried to purchase goods without any money for payment.
“This was a prolonged assault.
“This contributes absolutely nothing positive to Dundee or Kirkcaldy.”
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