A married couple who assaulted and plotted to rob a 86-year-old man in Perth “brought an end to his normal life”.
Alan and Louise Marshall took their elderly victim to their home in rural Perthshire, where he was undressed and had his photo taken.
The Marshalls then threatened him and demanded he hand over £300.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how the couple drove him back to Perth in his Kia Sportage.
Mrs Marshall, 43, then escorted him to his Virgin Money branch on High Street.
Concerned staff raised the alarm when they noticed the man was “panicky”, with his clothes ruffled, as he asked to take money from his credit card account “to pay his cleaner”.
Police were contacted and the Marshalls’ bungalow was raided.
Investigators found the old man’s boxer shorts in one of the bedrooms.
Having earlier been found guilty of assault, they returned to court for sentencing on Monday.
Lack of insight after crimes
The couple held hands in the dock as they waited to hear their fate from Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC, who had had to reprimand them for not paying attention.
She sentenced both to a year’s supervision and Alan Marshall to 300 hours unpaid work and a three-month 7pm to 7am curfew.
Louise Marshall, who was deemed unfit for unpaid work, was handed a six-month curfew over the same hours.
Sheriff Bain KC said: “You were both found guilty of the assault and attempted robbery of a vulnerable, elderly man.
“It must have been clear that your behaviour towards him was of a type which would have caused significant fear.
“I have a victim impact statement which advises me fully of the impact your behaviour has caused, in effect bringing to an end his normal life.”
The sheriff said both Marshalls “continue to besmirch” their victim in a social work report.
“Neither of you have shown any insight into the impact that this type of offending has,” she added.
The sheriff noted Alan Marshall was assessed as high risk by social workers and his wife of maximum risk and of maximum needs.
Guilty after trial
The Marshalls, now of Nimmo Place, Perth, denied allegations they assaulted and robbed their victim but a jury convicted them of assault after a three-day trial.
Allegations the pair repeatedly pushed the pensioner, brandished a hammer at him and threatened to set a dog on him were dropped.
The Marshalls were also cleared of robbing their victim of an initial £300, before taking him to the bank to withdraw more cash.
The elderly victim was unable to give evidence but his police statement given on the day of the crime was read out to jurors.
He told PC Gillian Robertson he visited Ladbrokes on South Methven Street most days and knew the Marshalls by sight.
On September 26 2021, Alan Marshall, 45, asked the pensioner to drive him to his then-home in Mercat Green, Kinrossie, picking up Mrs Marshall en route.
There, the couple began demanding £300, he said.
They drove him to a bank and he said: “I went into the bank and I was confused and scared, so they called the police.”
In a follow-up statement, the man told police: “The male took a photo of me and he said I touched his wife, which I didn’t.”
Life changes
Alan Marshall’s solicitor Paul Ralph said his client and wife had been “living a pro-social life and dug themselves out of a hole” until a deterioration in his mother’s health “brought about a change”.
James Laverty, appearing for Louise Marshall, said of his client: “There is a clear motivation to engage.
“Certainly this year, there’s been significant work done, however there are many bumps in the road.”
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