A Perth teenager who brutally attacked a 62-year-old while the man was hosting his grandchildren’s party has been jailed for 20 months.
James Foley, 18, Smillie Place, attacked Alexander Goodfellow with a bottle and then butted him. Foley had climbed over a garden fence into a rear garden of the Soutar Crescent property after he had been refused entry into the party.
Sheriff William Wood told Foley: “You climbed over the garden fence from a back lane into a garden where you had no entitlement to be.
“When challenged by Mr Goodfellow you then struck him with a bottle which you had in your mouth when you climbed over the fence and then transferred to your hand.
“You then retreated three or four steps, effectively took a run at Mr Goodfellow, and headbutted him.”
A jury had found Foley guilty by majority of striking Mr Goodfellow with a bottle to his severe injury in a house in Soutar Crescent, Perth, on June 14 last year.
The accused was also convicted, again by majority, of a second charge of butting Mr Goodfellow on the head, again to his severe injury, on the same date.
Foley had lodged a special defence, claiming he had been acting in self-defence after being under attack. But the jury rejected that and found him guilty on both counts.
In passing sentence, Sheriff William Wood said that Foley’s actions could only be dealt with by way of a custodial sentence.
He stated: “Mr Goodfellow must be protected, the public must be protected and you must be deterred from such actions in the future.”