Two men who bludgeoned victim with weights bar in murder bid jailed

Two men who tried to kill a man in an attack at his own home have been jailed for a total of almost 20 years.

Patrick Docherty, 34, and Samuel Bonnar, 36, targeted the man at the flat in Greenock, Inverclyde on June 13, 2022.

The victim was punched, kicked, stabbed as well as bludgeoned with a weights bar.

The pair fled the scene, leaving the man badly hurt.

An air ambulance was called to fly the wounded man to hospital in Glasgow but was prevented from doing so by people on the ground. The victim had to be transferred by road in a regular ambulance.

Docherty and Bonnar had denied the attempted murder during a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

The latter had lodged a special defence of alibi.

But, the pair – already serial criminals – were convicted of the charge on Friday.

Docherty had to be restrained by court security and police in the courtroom after hearing the verdict. ls.

As a result, the court was adjourned for around 20 minutes by judge Lord Arthurson.

Docherty did not return from the cells when the hearing resumed.

Lord Arthurson went on to sentence Docherty to nine years, Bonnar nine years and six months.

It emerged both had been in jail a total of more than 30 times.

This included Docherty once assaulting someone with a crossbow.

Bonnar had a number of convictions for violence and was previously locked up at the high court for six years in 2012.

Lord Arthurson stated: “You entered the flat with your heads hooded in what was plainly a pre-meditated, concerted and targeted attack.

“Footage showed you arriving and leaving together as well as walking and running through various streets in Greenock to flee the scene.

“Work colleagues (of the victim) in the flat at the time of the murderous attack commendably and promptly dialled 999.”

The court heard the victim’s injuries included a collapsed lung.

The judge: “Had no medical intervention taken place the injuries sustained could have presented a risk to life.”

Lawyers for the pair had earlier told the court that both had been affected by personal issues in their lives before the attack.

Thomas Lewis, 28, had also faced the attempted murder charge, but jurors returned a not proven verdict.

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