Train bully pays price for hitting passenger who stood up to him
Violent thug fined for punching woman on Paisley route
A bully who punched a female rail passenger for telling him off about his obscene language has been fined £500.
Ryan Love, 43, was handed unpaid work and told to pay £500 after he attacked a passenger who stood up to him over his vile comments on a busy Paisley train.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard Love pushed and punched the woman - who was travelling with her husband on the busy Glasgow Central to Gilmour Street service - in front of other shocked passengers,who were forced to jump in to stop the assault.
One man was heard shouting at Love: “Get your hands off my wife!” during the disturbance, which took place on the evening of January 12 last year.
Procurator fiscal depute Susan Barr said the incident was captured on CCTV and showed the victim, who was not named, carefully touching her face after the attack.
She said: “A woman passenger stood up from her seat and she appeared to confront the accused.
“The female witness walked away and returned to her seat.
“The accused stood up. There was an exchange between them. The accused then walked towards her and they are seen to be arguing.
“The woman is seen to face the accused and the accused is seen to strike her.
“One man shouted ‘Get you hands off my wife.’
“Other passengers are then seen to restrain the accused until the train terminates.”
The court heard when cops attended and spoke with witnesses, it was confirmed Love was the aggressor and he became hostile towards cops.
The prosecutor added: “It was noticed the accused was under the influence of alcohol and he was arrested and handcuffed.
“At which point he shouted, ‘f ****** w ****** ’ towards police. He continued shouting, ‘f ****** w ****** ,’ and turned to one officer, where he said, ‘I bet you would like my c*** in your mouth.’”
Love, of Patrickbank Wynd, Elderslie, appeared for sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge of assaulting the woman by punching and pushing her.
He also admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner, where he repeatedly shouted, swore, and made offensive remarks towards police.
The court had requested background reports in preparation for sentencing the self-employed heating engineer.
His defence agent said Love “understands this behaviour is completely unacceptable.”
He said: “He has shown a high level of remorse and is embarrassed about his conduct.
“He had taken pain killers after he was at the gym and he had gone to the pub where he was drinking.”
The lawyer said Love had very little memory of the incident but accepted his responsibility by pleading guilty to the charges.
Sheriff Iona McDonald said: “You were drinking on top of medication when you behaved in this manner.
“You were being a nuisance. But you also assaulted someone, a woman on the train.
“People are entitled to go about their business without putting up with this kind of thing.”
After studying reports she said she could deal with it by handing him a community-based disposal.
She fined him £500 and ordered that he perform 150 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community.