A thug who “plugged” a man with a knife in his thigh, triggering an armed police response, has been jailed.
Shaun Allan attacked Wayne Robertson with the blade at an address in Swan Court, Methil, on September 1 last year.
The 55-year-old appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link and pled guilty to possession of a kitchen knife and assault to injury by striking Mr Robertson on the body with a knife, and repeatedly attempting to strike him with it.
Prosecutor Jennifer Bairner told the court that Allan was in his partner’s flat socialising and drinking alcohol with others prior to the assault.
At some point his partner saw him take a black-handled knife with a three-inch blade and go into the common stairwell and to the flat upstairs.
‘One-inch’ wound
Ms Bairner said Allan reached past a witness there and struck Mr Robertson with the knife around the hip area.
Allan’s partner was trying to get him to leave and eventually managed to do so, the fiscal said.
A witness then turned to see Mr Roberston bleeding from a “one-inch puncture wound” to the left thigh.
Paramedics attended and treated the injury but Mr Robertson refused to attend hospital, so the wound was glued shut and paper stitches were applied.
Armed officers were called to the scene and traced Allan at about 1.33am.
The fiscal said that, while under caution, Allan said “I done him” while gesturing a stabbing motion with his hands then adding: “I plugged him”.
Claims of threats to kill
Defence lawyer Alexandra Short said Allan, formerly of Swan Court, had described his victim as a “bully”.
Ms Short said that around the time of the incident, Mr Robertson had been “making references to the accused being a beast” and Allan felt this had “gone too far” and reacted.
The solicitor said Allan was hopeful that social work could provide assistance in how he deals with his anger, though she acknowledged the incident was premeditated and could have been “much worse” and that his partner got him out of the flat.
Ms Short noted there seemed to be a gap in her client’s offending after he was put on a community payback order for a conviction in 2017 and that he benefitted from social work help.
Speaking over the video link, Allan claimed the complainer had kicked his door and threatened to kill him before the assault.
‘You are morally fortunate’
Sheriff Robert More told Allan: “There are plenty of people spending entire lives in jail because they have taken a decision to take out a knife and assault someone with it, maybe not intending to kill them, but that has been the outcome.
“You are morally fortunate here because it was not such an outcome
“I appreciate this is a very sanitised version of what goes on in the real world, but the reality is you can not take the law into your own hands and certainly not take out a weapon and use it on someone else.
“If criminal conduct is perpetrated against you, the only option you have is to make a report to police”.
Sheriff More jailed Allan for a total of 18 months.
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