Road rage thug locked up for attack on driver

Victim’s OAP mum witnessed brute’s vicious assault

A thug who carried out a road rage attack on a driver in front of his elderly mother has been jailed for the vicious assault.

James Craig was left infuriated while driving behind John Donnelly in Paisley.

Craig followed Mr Donnelly along the town’s Renfrew Road and, when he stopped, got out of the car and approached his vehicle.

He then punched Mr Donnelly three times on the mouth and cheek as his 69-year-old mother, Jean Donnelly, sat looking on.

Craig, 38, was also charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive manner that placed the pair in a state of alarm by shouting, swearing, threatening them with violence, gesticulating at them and acting aggressively.

But he struck a deal with prosecutors that saw this charge dropped when he admitted assaulting Mr Donnelly by raining punches on him.

Sentence was deferred for background reports and, when Craig, of Mount Florida, Glasgow, returned to the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court, Procurator Fiscal Depute Margaret McCallum explained the assault took place on January 27.

She explained: “The accused approached the driver’s door of the complainer’s vehicle.

“The accused punched the complainer to the mouth and cheek two or three times.”

Defence solicitor Douglas McAllister asked for leniency for Craig, saying he would comply with a community payback order.

Mr McAllister added: “He accepts he completely overreacted to this situation.

“He felt the complainer had cut him up, he had to slam on his brakes and perform an emergency stop. It was a rush of blood to the head.

“He’s embarrassed and ashamed. This behaviour is out of character for him.”

Sheriff David Pender ruled there was only one way he could deal with Craig for the road rage attack - and jailed him for seven months.

This was reduced from nine months as he admitted his guilt.

As he did so, the sheriff said: “You were released on bail 16 days before this and I note that one of the witnesses to the assault was Mr Donnelly’s 69-year-old mother.

“You have a terrible record of offending.

“I can only deal with this by way of a period of imprisonment.”