SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lord Arthurson said:

"Patrick Docherty and Samuel Bonnar, you have this afternoon been convicted after trial of a charge libelling the crimes of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger of life and attempted murder.  

At approximately 1.45pm on 13 June 2022 at Belville Avenue, Greenock, you did, whilst acting together, assault a young man in his own flat by punching and kicking him, repeatedly striking him on the head with a dumb-bell or weight bar and repeatedly striking him on the body with a knife all to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life and in so doing you attempted to murder him.  You entered the flat in question with your heads hooded in what, on the evidence, was plainly a premeditated, concerted and targeted attack upon your victim within his own home, with weapons.  Footage played in the course of your trial shows you arriving at the locus together, leaving together, and walking and running through various streets in Greenock in an attempt to flee the scene.  

Work colleagues of the complainer, who were with him in the flat at the time of your concerted and murderous attack upon him, commendably and promptly called 999, and those thereafter initially assessing the complainer arranged for an air ambulance to be flown to the town from Glasgow to transfer him directly to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.  Due to the reprehensible behaviour of local youths as spoken to in police evidence led at the trial, the helicopter could not proceed with the planned air evacuation, so a conventional ambulance required to be utilised instead.  The complainer arrived at the hospital at approximately 3.10pm.  A chest drain was inserted into his left chest. He had sustained the following penetrative wounds: a wound to the left side of the chest which was actively bleeding, beneath which was a large pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and a small volume of blood in the chest cavity; a wound overlying the tenth rib with a diaphragm injury and a small spleen laceration; and a wound overlying the lumbar 1 vertebra with an associated fracture of that vertebra.  The complainer has been left with residual scarring and it is a matter of agreement, first, that the potential risks to the complainer from his sustained injuries included respiratory and cardiovascular deterioration, infection and blood loss, and, second, that, had no medical intervention taken place, the injuries sustained by him could have presented a risk to his life.

Patrick Docherty, you are now aged 34.  You have to date accrued 20 groups of previous convictions, 7 of these at indictment level.  You have been the subject of 11 prior custodial disposals.  You have five directly relevant weapons-related convictions on your record, notably for an assault with a crossbow in 2009, an assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement with a bottle in 2016, and separate convictions for possession of a knife in 2013, 2016 and 2019.

Samuel Bonnar, you are now aged 36.  You have accrued to date 26 groups of previous convictions, 9 of these at indictment level, including a High Court conviction in 2012 which attracted a sentence of 6 years imprisonment.  You have been the subject of 21 prior custodial disposals, and your criminal history includes directly relevant convictions for assault and robbery in 2004, assault to severe injury in 2005 and again in 2009, and separate convictions for possession of a knife in 2008 and 2021. In convicting you of this charge today the jury has clearly rejected your defence of alibi.

I have listened carefully to the submissions in mitigation advanced on your behalf this afternoon by your respective counsel, and note in particular what has been said regarding your personal and family backgrounds, history of drug misuse, and in your case Mr Bonnar the positive rehabilitative steps which you have taken while in custody.

On any view the only appropriate disposal in this case for each of you requires to be a very substantial custodial sentence. In view of the nature and gravity of the charge before the court today, set against your appalling respective criminal records for crimes of violence and offences involving weapons, I now sentence you on this indictment as follows.  

You, Mr Docherty, will serve a period of imprisonment of 9 years, with 6 months of that period attributable to the libelled bail aggravation. This sentence will be backdated to the date of your initial remand into custody in these proceedings, namely 15 June 2022.  

You, Mr Bonnar, in view of your role in this incident as the attacker with the knife and your, marginally perhaps, but still measurably graver, record of criminal antecedents, will serve a period of imprisonment of 9 years and 6 months, with 6 months of that period attributable to the libelled bail aggravation. This sentence will be backdated to the date of your own initial remand into custody, namely 25 August 2022."