A thug is facing a jail sentence after assaulting and robbing a stranger walking home from a night out – leaving him with a broken leg.
Steven Ross ran up behind the man and punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the floor, stole his wallet and ran off.
His victim was left with a broken leg and tooth following the terrifying attack on the Spital on November 7 as he made his way from following a night out.
Ross, 46, then used the man’s bank card at a newsagent after assaulting and robbing him.
Accused seized him by the clothes and punched him in the face
Fiscal depute Colin Neilson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “After a night out socialising with friends, the complainer decided to walk home to Bridge of Don. He was walking alone.
“While walking north on the Spital, he became aware of footsteps running behind him.
“The accused approached the complainer, seized him by the clothing and punched him to the face.
“This caused the complainer to stumble and back off between parked cars.
“As a result he fell to the ground.
“The complainer’s jacket came off in the struggle. The complainer asked for his jacket back. The accused threw it at him.
“The accused had removed the complainer’s wallet from the jacket. The wallet contained bank cards in the name of the complainer. The accused then ran away.”
Mr Neilson said the man was left with a broken tibia – a bone in his leg – as well as a broken tooth and bruising to his face after he was assaulted and robbed.
Ross then went on to use his victim’s bank card to buy £23.98 worth of goods from News and Chews on Bridge Street in the city centre.
‘Plainly no alternative to custody’
Ross pled guilty to assault to severe injury and robbery, as well as fraud, and a separate charge of possession of a Stanley knife at Greig Court.
Sheriff William Summers warned Ross, a prisoner of HMP Grampian, that there was “plainly no alternative to custody in relation to these offences”.
However, he deferred sentence until April for a social work report to be prepared so that he could consider imposing post-release supervision.
Defence agent Gail Goodfellow reserved mitigation until the sentencing hearing.
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