Man who used Taser stun gun on member of the public is jailed

20-year-old left victim in need of hospital treatment after attack

A thug who blasted his victim with a stun gun has been jailed for more than two years.

Kieran Edwards was spotted sneaking round Arbroath’s Chalmers Street in the dead of night by local resident Dewar Ritchie.

When Mr Ritchie confronted Edwards the 20-year-old pulled out a Taser stun gun and blasted him with it.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard Mr Ritchie was hospitalised as a result but it is understood he suffered no long-term injury.

A sheriff told Edwards: “I can’t treat that with any leniency.”

Edwards, 20, of Dens Road, Dundee, pled guilty on indictment to charges of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner, assault and possessing a stun gun. The offences were committed on June 4 and 5 last year at addresses in Arbroath.

Defence solicitor Paul Parker Smith said: “This is his first taste of custody – he does not have a long record.

“He appreciates these are extremely serious crimes.”

Sheriff Alastair Brown jailed Edwards for two years and three months, reduced from three years for his guilty plea.

He said: “You not only had a Taser – a weapon that if the police use it requires an inquiry on every occasion – but you used it because a member of the public spoke to you about what you were doing in the dead of night in a place where you shouldn’t have been. “He ended up having to go to hospital. “I can’t treat that with any leniency except that which is appropriate for someone of your age and limited record.

“Let it be understood by everyone that possessing a stun gun of any description will usually result in custody.”

Possessing astungun of any description will usually result in custody. SHERIFF ALASTAIR BROWN