Scared? It never entered my head
OAP, 83, tells of single punch that felled thief
IT was, as he put it himself, like a terrier squaring up to a Rottweiler.
But despite being at a disadvantage in terms of age and health, pensioner Charles Mulholland wasn’t scared to have a go when he found an intruder in his home.
The slightly built 83-year-old felled thief Ian McElwain with a single punch.
Yesterday, McElwain, 46, was convicted of stealing money and jewellery from Mr Mulholland’s flat in Townhead, Glasgow, on June 21, 2013.
Jailing him for three years, Sheriff Paul Crozier told the thug: ‘You have been convicted of despicable offences.’ Earlier, retired decorator Mr Mulholland told how he had entered the living room of his flat and saw McElwain rifling through drawers.
The pensioner added: ‘He said, “I’m looking for Peter”. I said, “That’s my wallet”. He must have picked it up.
‘He said, “I’ve got a blade, I’m going to cut you”. I never thought about being scared – I just punched him in the stomach.’
Mr Mulholland described how he used a chair in the same way as a lion tamer to corner McElwain.
He said: ‘The chair was the only thing I had there. I couldn’t reach his face to hit him. It never entered my head to be scared. When a terrier faces up to a Rottweiler, it doesn’t know it’s wee.’
He said McElwain dropped what was in his hand as he ran to the front door of the flat.
Glasgow Sheriff Court was told that the pensioner chased after the thief and tried to pull him back because he had his ‘stuff ’.
But McElwain escaped out of the front door and down a set of stairs in the building.
Speaking outside court yesterday, Mr Mulholland said McElwain lived two floors below him, although he didn’t know that at the time.
He added: ‘He must have followed me or something and I forgot about locking the door when I came in from the shops.’
McElwain took a gold wedding ring and a watch belonging to Mr Mulholland’s late wife, who died 16 years ago. They had been married for more than 43 years.
The pensioner said: ‘ I wasn’t bothered about the money, it was the ring and watch.
‘You can have all the money in the world but it’s not the same, it has sentimental value.
‘I can’t put it into words – there’s nothing that can bring them back.’
Passing sentence, Sheriff Crozier told McElwain: ‘ Your conduct on June 21 was one which is abhorrent in society. The only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment. It is quite frankly despicable that an 82-year- old person cannot be left to enjoy his own home in safety and comfort.’
During the trial, defence lawyer Ian Sievwright said that Mr Mulholland should be ‘applauded for his bravery’. But the victim modestly replied: ‘No, I was a fool.’
Describing the confrontation, Mr Sievwright said the blow the pensioner delivered must have been ‘some punch’ as it knocked the intruder over.
The lawyer said: ‘He (McElwain) got back up and you were almost like a lion tamer with a chair between you and him.’
Mr Mulholland, who was bloodied during the incident, responded: ‘Well, he said that he was going to cut me.’
Describing the impact that the incident has had on him, the pensioner told the court that he now always makes sure the front door of the home in which he has lived for 36 years is kept locked.
Mr Mulholland also claimed that he was now wary of people he encountered in the building’s lift.