Fort William brothers receive 20-month sentences following string of violent offences
A Sheriff expressed his sadness at having to send two brothers to a Young Offender’s Institution for 20 months after they admitted a string of violent offences where a man was attacked to the danger of his life and knocked unconscious.
Sheriff Gary Aitken addressed 19-year-old Grant McPhee and his 18-year-old brother Donald in the dock of Inverness Sheriff Court after taking additional time to consider his sentence following their guilty pleas, tendered last month, to a total of 11 charges committed in Fort William and Oban.
Both teenagers from Fort William had been due to be dealt with last week but Sheriff Aitken told them that they had "complex backgrounds and I wanted time to reflect".
Grant McPhee also appeared in his own right after he tried to escape from the court back on August 28, 2023, when he was given his first custodial sentence by Sheriff Robert Frazer.
He refused to accept the Sheriff’s 15-month sentence, threw his bag out of the dock at Inverness Justice Centre and tried to escape.
But the quick actions of Geoamey prisoner escort staff and a court police officer prevented McPhee from fleeing and he was restrained.
Fiscal depute Alison Young told how the bag missed one of her colleagues. Since then, accused persons are prevented from taking any items into the dock.
She told Sheriff Sara Matheson: "It landed near the fiscal depute. He then attempted to climb out of the dock.
"He was restrained to the ground by Geoamey staff assisted by the court’s police officer, but continued to struggle and make abusive comments."
McPhee had admitted threatening behaviour and sentence had been deferred on this case to await the outcome of the other case. Sheriff Aitken ordered he serve nine months on that offence but it will not be added to the 20 months.
He told McPhee: "I hope that with a degree of maturity you realise that this was an ill-advised reaction to your first custodial sentence.
"I can’t think of anything more stupid to do."
McPhee stood quietly beside his brother, flanked by Geoamey staff, to hear that he was going to be behind locked doors until the middle of next year.
Both brothers, who live in Angus Crescent, Fort William, pleaded guilty to four charges. They were committed on October 19, 2022 in George Street, Oban, and the beer garden of Weatherspoon’s Bar in Fort William on January 13, 2023.
The most serious offence was on a man in the beer garden where he was repeatedly stamped on and punched on the head and body, and hit on the head and body with a metal chair, knocking him unconscious to his severe injury and danger of his life.
A woman was also punched on the head and body in the same incident.
In the October attacks, a man had a glass bottle smashed over his head and was repeatedly punched to his permanent disfigurement. Another suffered a rain of blows to his head and body.
Donald McPhee admitted assaulting a woman in that disturbance by kicking her on the body.
In addition, he further pleaded guilty to two charges of assault, committed on March 5, 2023, in or near a play park between Alma Road and Victoria Road, Fort William.
His victims were a young male, who was repeatedly struck on the head, had his upper clothing pulled up before being bitten on the shoulder to his injury, and a female who was repeatedly punched on the head to her injury.
Sheriff Aitken decided to impose a supervised release order on both youths, saying: "to protect the public and to provide you with a degree of a safety net. These were serious offences of violence and disorder. It is rather sad that very young men are found committing offences of this kind.
"But there is no alternative to periods of detention for both of you."
Grant McPhee’s lawyer, David Fisken told the court: "He is a young man who has not had his trouble to seek.
"He has used and abused alcohol for a number of years. He was drunk during the course of both these incidents. He expresses his regret and remorse."
Desmond Ziolo for Donald McPhee said: "Consumption of alcohol applies to him as well and he has significantly reduced it since then.
"There has been no further offending and he has changed the path that he was on."
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