A teenager who cracked a schoolboy’s skull in a brutal golf club attack has been warned to engage with a youth justice support scheme.
Dean Williamson was placed on a structured deferred sentence following the attack in Perth’s Dunkeld Road in June 2021.
He brought down the club on his 15-year-old victim’s head so hard it snapped it two, the city’s sheriff court heard.
The boy was left “unable to speak” and may never fully recover.
Williamson, now 19, pled guilty to assault to severe injury, permanent impairment, and disfigurement and danger of life.
In 2023, Sheriff David Hall “with some hesitation” placed him on the Right Track programme, a scheme for offenders aged 16 to 26.
Williamson has also pled guilty to being concerned in the supply of cannabis at an address near his home in Catmoor Avenue, Scone, on November 24 2021.
When he returned to court for sentencing, solicitor Alan Davie, confirmed his client had been missing appointments.
Sheriff Alison McKay told him: “If you were a bit older, both of these charges would almost inevitably have attracted a custodial sentence and having been given the opportunity to demonstrate to the court that that isn’t the best option, it appears you just can’t be bothered.”
She said: “You can’t even be bothered to tell your solicitor why you have missed five out of seven appointments.”
The sheriff ordered a further review of his progress on the Right Track scheme.
21 swings, five fractures
A Dundee ex-paratrooper battered a 65-year-old who gave evidence against his dad in a criminal trial three decades ago. Offshore worker Christopher Lawson approached his victim’s car and swung at him around 21 times, leaving him with five facial fractures.
Drink and drugs
A drunk and drugged-up driver who rolled his car while fifteen times over the MDMA limit has been banned from the road for almost two years.
William Douglas, of Restenneth Drive in Forfar, previously appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court to admit driving carelessly and while over the limit for drugs and double the alcohol limit (44mics/ 22).
At 8.30pm on June 22 this year, he crashed on Addison Place in Arbroath while giving his partner a lift.
Douglas, 28, admitted he carelessly lost control of his vehicle, collided with a parked car, clipping its wing mirror.
He collided with a campervan and rolled his car, coming to rest upside down.
Douglas later failed a breath test and drug wipe, returning a reading for the latter of 150 mics of MDMA.
When charged, he told police: “I’m stupid.”
Sheriff Derek Reekie imposed a 21-month driving ban and ordered Douglas to complete 75 hours unpaid work.
He said: “The combination of alcohol and drugs – you shouldn’t have been anywhere near a car. You could have killed yourself and (your partner).”
Perthshire pilferer
Prolific thief Andrew Miller stole cars, motorbikes and £25,000 of other high-value items during a spate of raids across Perthshire. Between 2022 and 2023, he targeted properties in Murthly, Perth, Inchture and Pitlochry.
Sick material
Paul Greechan, 36, from Dunfermline, who amassed more than 450 hours of child sexual abuse footage on his home computers has been given a payback order.
He earlier pled guilty to taking or making and possessing indecent photos or pseudo-photos of children, between November 16 2009 and March 6 last year in Law Road.
Prosecutor Sarah Smith told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court previously police arrived to search Greechan’s home in March and he told them “you will find what you are looking for, there is stuff on my computer” and that he has been depressed for years.
A PC tower with three hard drives, a laptop and an external hard drive were all recovered and a total of 3,859 files were found on the devices, of which 685 images and 1,236 videos were rated category A – the most graphic kind.
The fiscal said the external hard drive appeared to be used as a storage device containing 1,247 backup files and 427 files on one of the PC hard drives were created in a Windows operating system backup.
The fiscal depute said: “454 hours was the combined approximate run time of all the videos” and images included children as young as one.
Sheriff John MacRitchie acknowledged there was a duplication of images, bringing the number down but there were still hundreds in the worst level of severity.
He said: “The most significant factor in your case is the justice social work report which, to your great credit, is one where you acknowledge the issues you have, unlike other cases I have dealt with today, therefore there is much greater possibility of you accepting and benefiting from help to rehabilitate you”.
The sheriff gave Greechan a three-year community payback order with offender supervision and told him to carry out 175 hours of unpaid work.
Greechan will also be required to undertake the Moving Forward to Change programme and will be subject to strict conduct requirements and was put on the sex offenders register for three years.
Dundee chase
A banned driver pulled over for police in Dundee before speeding away when officers left their vehicle to speak to him. Lennon Russell, 24, blitzed across various roads during a high-speed chase which had to be abandoned when it became too dangerous.
‘Sorry for mother’
“Out of control” Dundee teenager Kaydon McColl, who drove a stolen car into a wall, a lamppost and a police vehicle during a high speed chase has been given a chance to stay out of trouble.
The 18-year-old was remanded for more than a month after stealing a vehicle from Findhorn Place, crashing it and fighting with police officers at Ninewells Hospital on December 3.
Dundee Sheriff Court previously heard how he drove without headlights in darkness and at excessive speed.
He hit a wall and another vehicle, then reversed into a stationary police vehicle, before reversing at speed and driving over a footpath.
He then collided with a lamppost and a third parked vehicle.
McColl’s dangerous driving occurred on Strathmartine Road, Lauderdale Avenue and Kettins Terrace.
After being taken to hospital, McColl shouted, swore, made violent threats and repeatedly spat on the ground, before trying to headbutt a PC.
He also admitted being in possession of cocaine and driving with excess alcohol (23mics/ 22).
McColl appeared via video link from HMYOI Polmont for sentencing following the preparation of a social work report.
Solicitor Jim Laverty said McColl’s mother, in court to view proceedings, would take her son back in after previously saying she could not longer cope with having him in her home.
Should he step out of line, she said she would report him to police.
Sheriff Gregor Murray, who remanded him in custody previously, said: “I feel sorry for his mother” and released McColl on a high-tariff structured deferred sentence until March.
Sex pest jailed
Forfar serial sex pest Gavin Ross has been jailed for almost 14 months after admitting a plethora of offending in 2024. He ranted about having a gun at Whitehills hospital in Forfar and demanded Valium from staff, repeatedly touched his genitals during a bus journey from Dundee to Forfar while sitting beside a frightened teenager and at 10am, standing at his window, handled his exposed private parts, before giving a thumbs up to aghast elderly neighbours.
Cannabis driver
A Fife driver was high on cannabis with a passenger and a child in the back seat.
Colin Blyth, 37 of High Street, Cowdenbeath, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court from custody to admit driving a car in Kirkland Avenue, Ballingry, with excess THC (7mics/ 2) on January 25 last year.
Defence lawyer Stephen Morrison said Blyth works as a bricklayer’s labourer.
Sheriff Susan Duff fined him £300 and banned him from driving for three years.
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