A man has been jailed after chasing and trying to stab a “bully” who smashed his car window.
Lewis Yeats ran and lunged toward his victim outside North Sea Court in the Seaton area of Aberdeen.
The man managed to dodge him, but Yeats, 23, gave chase, swinging the blade and at one point slicing his jacket.
Yeats was previously handed a community payback order over the offence, but has since found himself in custody for an unrelated matter, so had to return to court to be sentenced again.
Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson previously told the court the complainer knew Yeats and had considered them to be on “friendly terms”.
Around 3pm on June 2 2021 the man and his friend were outside North Sea Court when the friend suddenly shouted “watch out”.
Ms Simpson said: “The complainer saw the accused running towards him holding a large black-handled kitchen knife.
“The accused ran towards him and lunged at him, trying to stick the knife into his stomach.”
‘There were attempts to enforce these debts’
The man managed to dodge the lunge and tried to run away.
Ms Simpson said: “The accused ran after him and continued to make stabbing motions.
“The complainer felt the knife make contact with his jacket as though trying to stab him in the back.”
At one point, the knife punctured the jacket, leaving the man with a small cut to his back.
The man then “tried to punch the accused in self-defence” and there was a “scuffle” between the pair before Yeats made off.
Police traced him nearby and he was arrested.
The knife was recovered by an off-duty police officer who found it lying in the road between Merkland Lane and Pittodrie Street.
Yeats, of Blairdaff, near Inverurie, pled guilty to assault to injury and possession of a knife.
In a court-ordered social work report, Yeats said there was a history between him and the complainer, who had been “bullying and intimidating” him and had smashed the windows of his car immediately prior to the incident.
Defence agent Graham Morrison told the court the complainer in the case had a criminal record consisting of “18 pages”.
‘Could have had absolutely catastrophic results’
He went on: “The dispute that day was about the damage to the car belonging to Mr Yeats.”
Mr Morrison explained Yeats had had an issue with class A drugs and had run up associated debts.
He said: “There were attempts to enforce these debts.
“What he describes as bullying could be described as enforcement as well.”
The solicitor added Yeats had not intended to use the knife “thought it would be enough to frighten them away”.
Yeats had originally been handed a supervision order and curfew over the matter, but, due to being unable to comply with them as he is in custody, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin revoked the order and instead jailed him for eight months.
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