iStockA man who left a friend brain damaged after they had been out watching a Scotland football match has been jailed for seven and a half years.
David Gibson had been freed on bail just a day earlier when he turned on Derrick Smith near a church in Dundee.
The 34 year-old left his victim for dead before confessing to a stranger in the street he had been in an “argument”.
Mr Smith, 46, was so badly hurt, he could only initially be identified from a tattoo he had. He is now cared for in a nursing home.
Gibson was sentenced by judge Lady Stacey at the High Court in Glasgow.
He had pled guilty in April to an attempted murder charge.
As well as the jail-term, Gibson will also be supervised for a further two years on his release.
Prosecutor Ali Murray told an earlier hearing Gibson had been subject of three separate bail orders at the time.
The last was when he was freed by a sheriff last May 31 having been charged with assault.
The next day, Gibson, Mr Smith and a female friend went to a bar in Dundee to watch the Scotland vs Ukraine World Cup play-off match on TV.
They were described as in “good spirits”.
After the football, the woman left the pair, who ended up walking at the rear of St Paul’s church and a Mecca Bingo in the city’s Nethergate.
Mr Murray said Mr Smith was unable to recall what then occurred.
But, Gibson admitted in court that he struck his friend before repeatedly stamping on his head and body.
The next morning, a passer-by found Mr Smith still lying stricken behind the church.
Mr Murray: “When she approached him, he was only grunting. His mouth was covered in blood and his nose bleeding.
“His face was swollen, his eyes bruised and swollen shut.”
Mr Smith was rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.
Medics told police that his condition – including fractures and a serious brain injury – were life threatening.
Mr Murray: “Due to the extent of his facial injuries, officers could only identify him from a tattoo on his left shoulder.”
Mr Smith was discharged from intensive care two weeks later and transferred to a specialist brain unit.
The court heard he can no longer live independently and is cared for in a nursing home in Fife.
Mr Murray: “There may be some improvement, but he will not make a full recovery.”
The court heard Gibson approached a woman after the attack stating him and a “friend” had “argued” having earlier been out watching the football.
Gibson claimed he had been “threatened” during the row.
He said he had left the man at the back of the church and when he returned two hours later, he was still not awake.
Police later found him in Nethergate. He was identified as the man who approached the stranger due to him having no front teeth.
The jail-term was cut from ten years due to the guilty plea.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
