A violent brute from Dundee who abducted a man, forced him to dig his own grave at Templeton Woods and mercilessly beat him with a crowbar has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Remorseless Stephen Bell forced Charles Jamieson into concealing drugs on his person before putting him in a car boot and inflicting a life-endangering attack at between February 4 and 5 2023.
Mr Jamieson suffered horror injuries, including a collapsed lung, and was ordered to use his hands to dig a hole and told to say goodbye to his mother.
Bell, 38, denied being responsible and said he was only a passenger in the car that transported Mr Jamieson from an address on Caldrum Street to the woods.
However, a jury at Dundee Sheriff Court convicted Bell, who was slated for the “savagery” he displayed.
Sheriff Paul Ralph said Bell’s crimes were so serious that he considered remitting him to the High Court for sentencing.
Drugs plot led to assault
Jurors were previously told how Mr Jamieson’s court-imposed ankle tag was cut off before being forced to conceal drugs and tobacco on his body that he would take into HMP Perth.
A plan to have Mr Jamieson arrested went awry and he was then driven to the woods in the boot of a car.
The victim – who the court heard had a drug debt – was repeatedly punched and kicked before being battered with the crowbar.
He suffered a myriad of injuries including a collapsed lung and chest trauma which required a chest drain to be surgically fitted.
Mr Jamieson also sustained nasal, cheekbone and sinus wall fractures as well as swelling, bruising and scratching.
Bell, normally of Pentland Avenue but remanded in Perth, was out on bail at the time of the attack and was also convicted of possessing Class C drugs gabapentin and etizolam.
He returned to court for sentencing following the preparation of a social work report.
It was revealed that in that report, Bell claimed he was actually the driver of the car after maintaining throughout the trial a “friend from England” was behind the wheel.
Solicitor advocate Billy Watt said: “He accepts the verdict of the jury and also accepts a custodial sentence is inevitable.
“He was in the car that night as he also had obligations to certain parties having been in debt.”
The lawyer highlighted Bell had spent close to 300 days on remand in custody and said his last prison sentence was in 2017.
Sheriff Ralph said: “I have given serious thought as to whether my sentencing power is adequate to deal with you.
“You display no remorse towards your victim.
“I am persuaded, only just, that I can deal with your case without remitting you to the High Court.
“I am satisfied the period for which you would otherwise be on licence would not be appropriate to protect the public from serious harm from you upon your release.”
Bell was made subject to an extended sentence comprising of four-and-a-half years in custody and two years of supervision in the community.
Hit-and-run
In 2023, The Courier told how Bell was on a motorbike when he smashed into a pedestrian schoolboy in Dundee.
As well as the stricken victim, the unqualified rider left his distinctive Tweety Pie helmet and a shoe behind when he fled.
A family member got a tip-off about the rider’s identity, found Bell’s social media page and recognised the motorbike involved in the crash and the discarded trainer.
He admitted driving dangerously and grossly in excess of the 30 mph Charleston Drive speed limit and causing serious injury to the child.
Bell, who already had a long list of convictions for violence, dishonesty, drugs and driving offences, was banned from driving and given unpaid work.
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