A thug has been jailed for a brutal assault on a “terrified” pensioner in his own home which made the man feel as if he was having a heart attack.
Connor Mackintosh brazenly strolled into the 67-year-old man’s home in Macduff and stood behind the oblivious pensioner, who is hard of hearing, as he watched TV.
When spotted, the 24-year-old – who wasn’t wearing any shoes, refused to leave and demanded cash and the pensioner’s phone, before punching, kicking and stamping on him. The attack left him with injuries including a fractured rib.
And Mackintosh also trashed his victim’s home, causing £2,500 damage by throwing chairs around, smashing picture frames and trying to hit the pensioner with a lamp.
Pensioner was ‘terrified’ and ‘felt like he was having a heart attack’
Fiscal depute Colin Neilson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court: “The complainer lives at the address alone. He did not know the accused.
He habitually leaves his doors unlocked. He uses a walking stick.
“At around 11.15pm he was in the living room watching television.
“The accused entered the property uninvited and stood behind the complainer in the living room.
“The complainer did not hear the accused enter due to having poor hearing.
“The accused was not wearing any shoes.
“The complainer asked the accused to leave. The accused refused.
“He demanded the complainer hand over his mobile phone and money.
“The complainer said he did not understand and that he did not have a mobile phone. The accused became aggressive and threw a chair at the living room window.
“The accused then repeatedly punched the complainer on the face. The complainer fell to the floor as a result. The accused repeatedly kicked and stamped on the complainer’s body.”
Mr Neilson told the court while the attack was going on the pensioner was “terrified” and “felt like he was having a heart attack”.
He added: “He suffers from angina and ischemic heart disease.”
Mr Neilson continued: “While the complainer was lying on the floor, the accused took picture frames from the walls and smashed them against the floor near to the complainer.
“He tried to strike the complainer with a bedside lamp. The complainer managed to move to avoid this and the lamp smashed on the floor next to him.
“The accused ripped out electrical cables from the living room wall which were attached to a laptop. He threw the cables to the ground.
“He threw a chair at the complainer which narrowly missed him.
“The accused then left the property.
“The complainer managed to walk to his daughter’s house to seek refuge.”
Mr Neilson told the court Mackintosh’s victim was left with “at least one” fractured rib and a “serious” soft tissue injury to the left side of his face, as well as various cuts and bruises.
Mackintosh pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and to assault to severe injury over the incident, which happened on January 17 last year.
He also admitted a string of other charges relating to his conduct over a six-week period, including three further charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, three of assault, one of assault to injury, one of malicious mischief, and one of acting in a racially aggravated manner.
Defence agent Sam Milligan said: “At that stage, Mr Mackintosh recognises his behaviour was quite simply out of control and was contributed to by significant amounts of alcohol and drugs which he was ingesting.”
Mr Milligan added his client had little recollection of the offences.
Sheriff William Summers told Mackintosh, of Paradise Road, Kemnay: “These charges reflect an extraordinary and frankly shocking course of criminal behaviour.
“The number and gravity of the offences are such that there is no question of this matter being dealt with by anything other than custody.”
He ordered Mackintosh to be jailed for 24 months.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.