Intruders who attacked pensioner with walking stick after forcing way into home jailed

Two intruders who attacked a vulnerable pensioner with his own walking stick have been jailed for four years.

Christopher Marshall, 32, and John Munro, 30, left their 74-year-old victim badly injured and requiring rehabilitation treatment after they forced their way into his home in Grangemouth.

Lord Summers said that they would each have faced sentences of six years imprisonment, but that would be reduced following their early guilty pleas.

He told Marshall that he has an “atrocious record of previous convictions” dating back to 2010 and ordered that he should be under supervision in the community for a further three years, when he will be on licence and can be returned to jail if he breaches its conditions.

Marshall was also ordered to serve 235 days of the unexpired part of a previous jail term before he starts his latest sentence.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the victim was home alone on March 15 when he heard the letterbox being rattled.

Advocate depute David Mclean KC said: “Due to his mobility issues, it took him some time to reach the door, and upon looking out the peephole, he noticed that no one was there,” he said.

He opened the door and then saw Marshall and Munro, who he did not know. The pair had been at another flat taking drugs.

Mr Mclean said: “The complainer was pushed backwards into his flat, whilst trying to tell the accused to leave and told them he was going to phone the police.”

He went to the living room to get his mobile phone and sat on a chair to make a call to the police, but Marshall snatched the phone and sat on the pensioner’s leg, while Munro began to punch the victim on the head.

The prosecutor said: “Both accused then repeatedly struck [the victim] to the head while continually shouting ‘Give me your money’.”

Marshall took the man’s wallet from the mantelpiece, and the victim managed to push him away, but Munro continued to hit him. Marshall picked up a knife and sat on him again, preventing him from getting up.

Munro then picked up a bullworker exercise device and began to strike the pensioner with it.

The man managed to get to the bathroom and locked himself in.

The bullworker was thrown through a glass window in the bathroom door.

The pensioner waited about 30 minutes, and after there was no noise from the flat, he made his way to leave his home.

Mr Mclean said: “As he did so, he saw Marshall slumped with a chair in the living room and Munro within the kitchen. [The pensioner] left the flat and locked the door behind him, securing both accused within.”

He made his way to a neighbour’s home and asked her to contact the police. When officers entered the man’s flat, Marshall and Munro were still inside.

Marshall appeared heavily intoxicated, and paramedics who attended administered naloxone to him before he was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

The victim was also taken to hospital and was found to have sustained a number of injuries, including multiple broken ribs and a fractured kneecap.

He was discharged home on April 25 and underwent intensive rehabilitation sessions.

Marshall and Munro, both prisoners, admitted assaulting the pensioner to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment and to the danger of his life at his home in Torwood Avenue, Grangemouth and robbing him of a mobile phone and wallet.

The court heard that Marshall was freed early from a three-year jail sentence for serious assault nine days before the attack on the pensioner. He was also previously jailed for an assault and robbery with a hammer. Munro also has previous convictions for violent offending.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the victim was left in constant pain after he was attacked by a pair of strangers.

Advocate depute David Mclean KC said: “He reported he can no longer lift heavy objects, such as shopping bags.

“He reported that the pain also affects his walking and he now walks with a limp.”

The prosecutor said: “[The victim] reported he is scared and wary of answering the door if he is not expecting someone, in case the same type of assault happens again. He rarely leaves the house anymore, except for a couple of hours once a week.

“He is worried that when the people who attacked him are released from prison, something bad will happen to him.

“Overall, he reported that he is recovering, although the injuries are continuing to have an impact on his life,” said Mr Mclean.