Crown fail to hit the right note on assault
Guitar attack charge dropped over self-defence plea
A woman was due to appear at court this week following an alleged disturbance at Lindsay House.
Police were called to the Kittoch Street homeless unit around 9.45pm on Saturday after reports of a 29-year-old woman causing a disturbance within.
Witnesses say there were“two cop cars parked up outside”the Village unit following the alleged incident.
The woman was arrested for allegedly shouting, swearing and vandalism, thought to result in a pane of glass being kicked out of the unit’s front door.
She was taken into custody and was due to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court earlier this week. Two East Kilbride men urinated in a common close, kicked cars and banged repeatedly on residents’doors.
Michael Kelly and Daniel Burns admitted a charge of threatening or abusive behaviour when they appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court this week.
The disturbance happened in Murdoch Road and Bellgreen East on August 31 when both were on bail for other matters.
Kelly, 25, of Bellgreen West, and Burns, 18, of Falkland Drive, also admitted breaking a window in a common close in Murdoch Road.
Kelly further admitted resisting arrest and was jailed for six months.
Sentence on Burns was deferred until October 31 when he faces other charges. MIKE MCQUAID
A musician was allegedly battered on the head with his own metal guitar stand.
Arran Hendry said he was bleeding heavily after being attacked in Strathcona Place, East Kilbride, on November 24 last year.
Scott Brown, 34, a prisoner, was accused of assault to severe injury when he stood trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
He claimed he acted in self-defence – the charge was subsequently dropped after Mr Hendry, 28, admitted he had acted aggressively towards the accused and had to be restrained by another man.
Mr Hendry said he’d gone to his friend Derek Dougan’s house in Strathcona Place to collect his guitar stand which he’d left behind the previous week.
He said there were other people around and he got involved in an argument with Brown’s girlfriend.
The witness said he left the house and Brown followed, “charging at me like a maniac”.
Mr Hendry added: “I put my bags down and punched him.
“Derek then dragged me off him. I turned to ask him what he was doing and then Brown picked up my guitar stand and leathered me over the head with it.
“The blood was gushing out of my head. I didn’t know I had so much blood.”
Medical evidence agreed by both sides was that he had one stitch and four staples put in a cut to his head.
A blood vessel had burst and a pressure pack was applied to stop the flow of blood.
Mr Hendry said he discharged himself from hospital a few hours later.
Defence agent Andy Brophy suggested that more than one individual had asked Mr Hendry to leave the house because of his behaviour.
The witness replied: “I wasn’t going anywhere until I had my guitar stand.
“It had been dumped in the garden and it took me ages before I found it.”
Mr Brophy suggested that he was already bleeding from his head wound when Mr Dougan dragged him off Brown and “at no point did Scott Brown hit you over the head with a guitar stand”.
Mr Hendry insisted he was struck by the implement but, after evidence from him and Mr Dougan, the Crown decided not to proceed further and Brown was formally found not guilty.