A pair of men have been jailed for their part in a terrifying machete attack, which saw their victim chased down a Stirling street.
Reece McLaren and Liam Kaney both denied carrying the weapon but a sheriff told them it “mattered little” as they knowingly took part in the assault.
Kaney, 22, was heard shouting ‘f***ing chop him. Chop him again’ during the incident in April 2023.
McLaren, 21, went on to carry out another attack in the city centre, circling the victim while brandishing knives and threatening to “cut” him.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard how brave Travelodge staff attempted to shield the man as McLaren and another unnamed man attempted to rain punches on his head.
One victim was left with a broken vertebra and a seven-inch wound on his back, while the other has a “prominent” facial scar which has left him “devastated” and fearing it will affect his future job prospects.
‘Knife-wielding thugs’
Branding them “knife-wielding thugs”, Sheriff Derek Hamilton sentenced Kaney to 27 months in jail and McLaren to a total of 35 months imprisonment.
He said: “These were both extremely serious and violent assaults and both involved weapons.
“These were not spur of the moment offences.
“They were not reactive offences – both assaults involved the victim being chased by knife-wielding thugs.
“I accept young people are generally less able to exercise good judgement when making decisions.
“These offences, however, were not incidents which required an excess of fine judgement.
“You chased innocent victims with weapons. You must have been well aware of society’s view and the court’s attitude to such matters involving knives – it’s regularly all over the news.”
Guilty
The sheriff added: “Much has been said about who had the machete.
“At the end of the day it matters little – when you became involved in the matter you both knew that a machete might be involved.
“That makes all the participants responsible for what was done with the machete.”
Kaney, of Stewart Square, Raploch, and McLaren, of Annan, both admitted assaulting a man in Hazelbank Gardens on April 8 2023 to his severe injury, impediment and permanent disfigurement.
McLaren further admitted the second assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement on Goosecroft Road on January 27 last year.
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