A teenager who stabbed a stranger in a Perth street following a drunken argument has been given one final stay chance to stay out of trouble before being sentenced.
Kelly Ann Reid has been told to prove she can remain out of trouble for four and a half months if she is to have any chance of escaping a custodial sentence for the attack.
The 16-year-old drove a blade into her 15-year-old victim after a drunken night out with family and friends on June 20.
She was visiting from Falkirk with her brother, only to become involved in the attack, which left the girl in the gutter with a wound 2mm deep.
Onlookers in North Methven Street are said to have screamed as Reid’s victim raised her shirt to reveal the injury she had sustained.
A scarf was used as a tourniquet by friends, only for the 15-year-old to fall to the ground, calling out for her mother as she did so.
Reid, meanwhile, was seen walking away, shouting and holding aloft what witnesses described as a small, pen knife-like blade.
Medical staff took the victim to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where doctors undertook a series of tests to ensure she had suffered no serious internal injuries.
During an earlier appearance, Perth Sheriff Court heard there was no indication of how the incident had begun, other than that “parties had been drinking” and there had been “an incident.”
Reid, of Parkhall Drive, Falkirk, has admitted that on June 20, at South Methven Street, she assaulted the girl and struck her on the body to her severe injury.
A not-guilty plea has been accepted to a second charge that had alleged that a hot slice of pizza had been pushed into the complainer’s face on the same evening.
Depute fiscal Robbie Brown described the assault, saying, “The accused came towards the complainer holding a knife in her clenched fist.
“She was seen to make a punching motion and stabbed the complainer.
“The attack resulted in a 15 to 18mm by 2mm wound, around the complainer’s waist to her back, and her doctor could also see into the wound to a depth of around 2mm.
“There were no serious internal injuries, but the doctor described her as ‘lucky’ that she had not been more seriously injured, given what had happened to her.”
Reid’s solicitor meanwhile admitted that it had been “only good fortune that spared the complainer more serious injury.”
Reid has been described by her defence as “emotionally fragile,” with the court told she would not cope well in a custodial setting.
She was said to have had a transient lifestyle, staying with relatives and lacking emotional support, and has also missed a great deal of schooling.
Sheriff Michael Fletcher has previously deferred sentence to enable the court to consider alternatives to custody, though he has said that, “Just to be in possession of a knife is usually enough to warrant a custodial sentence.
“To actually stab someone is a far more serious offence and in just about every case will result in a prison sentence of not less than a year.”
Given Reid’s age, her history and the fact that she is a first offender, the sheriff has been willing to consider a community disposal.
On Tuesday he deferred sentence one final time to enable Reid to show she can continue to be of good behaviour, and for a report from social workers.
The accused has also been tasked to take part in a programme that aims to steer young offenders away from a life of crime.
Reid will return to Perth Sheriff Court on August 10.