Man pleads guilty to abduction and robbery

A man who abducted a Good Samaritan who helped him buy a packet of cigarettes – forcing his victim from his moving car at 40 miles per hour – was warned by a sheriff yesterday to expect a lengthy jail sentence.

Garry Kelly, 26, approached his victim outside a shop in Larbert, Stirlingshire, and asked him if he would buy alcohol and cigarettes for him “because he had no ID”.

James Horne, 24, agreed and made the purchases, but when he came out Kelly said he had no money, and offered Mr Horne £20 to drive him back to Clackmannanshire to get some.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that Kelly, from Alva, directed Mr Horne to Alva, Clackmannanshire, and told him to drive down a one-way street.

Mr Horne at first refused, but then “somewhat reluctantly” agreed, but halfway down the street Kelly told him to stop, pulled out the screwdriver, which he found in the passenger door compartment, and told Mr Horne, “Give me all your money or I’ll stab you in the eye”.

Kelly told Mr Horne to hand over his iphone and drive to Cash Converters in Stirling before the victim escaped. Kelly, of Alva, Clackmannanshire, pleaded guilty to assault, robbery, and abduction. Sheriff William Gilchrist said: “A lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable.”