SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Judge Miller told Mundie:

"Sandy John Mundie, you were convicted of the attempted murder of Jamie Hood. In finding you guilty of that crime, the members of the jury rejected your defence of incrimination.

You assaulted Jamie Hood in a brutal manner. According to your own evidence, on 6 December 2021 you were engaged in drug-dealing from a flat on the 17^th floor of Greig Court in Aberdeen. Jamie Hood attended at the door of that flat shortly after 9.48am that day. On realising that he was there, you emerged from the flat in an angry and aggressive state of mind and struck Mr Hood with what an eyewitness described as a “running punch” to his head, with such force that his head struck the door of the flat opposite and then the concrete floor of the landing, rendering him unconscious. As he lay on his back in that helpless state, you stood over him and repeatedly stamped on his face and head.

It appeared from the evidence that you attacked Jamie Hood because you suspected him of involvement in the theft of property from you.  

As a result of this overwhelming assault, Jamie Hood went into a state of seizure. Instead of calling for help, you then took his shoes, phone and rucksack, wrapped him in a sheet and carried him, still unconscious, to a stairwell in another part of the building, where you abandoned him and returned to the flat to clean his blood from the landing outside the door. By 10.22am, CCTV images showed you leaving the building. It was a matter of sheer chance that Jamie Hood was discovered, lying in the stairwell where you had left him, by a member of cleaning staff, resulting in a call to emergency services shortly before 11.10am.

This timeline indicates that Jamie Hood lay in the stairwell, unconscious, bleeding and displaying seizure-like symptoms, for a significant period, potentially around an hour, before the cleaner discovered him and called for help. The scale of the violence you used against Jamie Hood, your actions in abandoning him in the stairwell, making no effort to get help for him, and the comments you made to witnesses at different times during that day, demonstrated that you were indifferent to his fate. 

You inflicted life-changing injuries on Jamie Hood. He suffered a life-threatening brain injury as a result of your attack upon him. He remained unconscious throughout December 2021, only showing signs of improvement towards the end of that month. He was not able to breathe unaided until 1 January 2022. He then began a long and continuing process of rehabilitation, including therapy to help him to regain the ability to speak and walk. His rehabilitation continues. Although he is now able to live on his own, he continues to require assistance with everyday tasks. The ongoing limitations on his mobility and speech were still very apparent when he gave evidence at your trial, twenty months after you attempted to murder him. He entered and left the court in a wheelchair, although he was determined to stand for the brief duration of his evidence.

Your schedule of previous convictions is lengthy and includes multiple convictions for a wide range of offences, including crimes of violence, the most serious of which is a conviction on indictment for assault and robbery in 2013, multiple convictions for crimes of disorder, multiple convictions for crimes involving the possession or use of knives and other weapons and multiple convictions for offences committed whilst on bail. You have served a number of custodial sentences.

You were also subject to a bail order when you attempted to murder Jamie Hood, having been placed on bail by Aberdeen Sheriff Court on 22 October 2021.

I have considered the terms of the criminal justice social work report. Because you continue to deny responsibility for this crime, the report does not analyse your actions and motivation when you committed it. However, the report indicates that your lengthy history of offending is closely linked to your lengthy history of substance abuse, that this offence represented a significant escalation in your offending, that you were intoxicated on the morning when this offence was committed and that your substance abuse will require to be addressed if you are to avoid further offending on your eventual release into the community. In order to achieve this end, the report recommends that you be supervised and supported for a period of time when you are eventually released from custody.   

I have considered everything said on your behalf today by your senior counsel.

Because of the gravity of the crime which you have committed and your previous criminal record, a significant sentence of imprisonment is the only appropriate disposal in this case. Having regard to all of the relevant factors, I am satisfied that the period for which you would otherwise have been on licence in relation to that sentence would not be adequate to protect the public from serious harm from you when you are eventually released. For that reason, I am going to pass on you an extended sentence of 14 years, which is in two parts. The first part of the sentence is an immediate period in custody of 12 years, six months of which relate to the fact that you were on bail at the time of this offence. This custodial term will run from 15 December 2021, when you were first remanded in custody in relation to this case.

This immediate period in custody is not the end of your sentence. The second part of your sentence will be served in the community. From the date of your release, you will be under licence for an extension period of two years. The conditions of your licence will be fixed by the Scottish Ministers. If, during this extension period, you fail to comply with the conditions of your licence, it may be revoked and you may be returned to custody for a further period in respect of this case. The court also has power to deal with you if you commit another offence after your release and while you are on licence."

10 October 2023