Three masked gunmen who robbed a group of teenagers who were camping in a Dundee wood, were jailed at the city’s sheriff court today.
Kieran McIntyre, 20, Liam Scott, 19, and Adam Parkin, 19, were all jailed for 18 months when they appeared for sentence. All three had previously admitted taking part in the armed attack which took place in March 2014.
Sentencing the three, Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC, told the men she considered the offences to be very serious.
“So serious that all of you will receive a custodial sentence for this offence,” said Sheriff Drummond.
All three were jailed for 18 months, reduced from 24 months for early pleas on a charge of robbing four teenagers aged 14 and 15 between March 7 and 8, 2014 at Baldragon Woods. Sheriff Drummond restricted the sentence on McIntyre of Clepington Street, Scott of Eden Street and Parkin of St Dennis Terrace to 18 months.
Sheriff Drummond further sentenced Scott and Parkin to another 24 months each, again reduced to 18 months for a charge of having an air rifle on the same date and location.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court previously heard that the three dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with air rifles robbed the teenagers as they camped in the woods near Clatto Reservoir.
The court was told that the men shone torches into the boys tent and demanded they get out.
They then made the boys sit on rocks while they pointed air rifles at them, shone torches in their faces and robbed them.
The four teenagers had pitched a tent before going to bed around 11pm on the night the offence occurred.
Around midnight they were wakened by noises which they thought was people rummaging through their bags which had been left outside the tent.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson had told the court that a torch was shone into the tent and Scott said words similar to: “Are you getting up then?”
“Get out of the tent.” Three of the boys got out of the tent but one stayed inside sleeping.
Parkin held a torch in their faces and pointed a rifle towards them and said: “Run and you will get shot.”
Parkin then demanded the fourth boy get out of the tent and said: “I’m giving you 30 seconds to get out of here or I’ll blow your head off.” The boys handed over £5, mobile phones and cigarettes.
One boy said his phone was in the tent and Parkin pressed the barrel of the gun into the back of his head and told him to get it.
The three men then told the boys not to leave before sunrise as they were watching and they would be shot if they tried it. The boys waited until morning before leaving.
Sheriff Drummond said it must have been a terrifying experience for those boys.
“They have been left in fear of their lives and I consider this to be a very serious matter,” said the sheriff.
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