Two men have been jailed after they burst into an Inverness man’s home and committed “a brutal and appalling attack”.
Thomas Marello, 29, Corey MacLeod, 22, and Rhunne MacGregor, 26, carried out their assault inside a flat on Mackintosh Road, Inverness, on the night of March 22 2023.
Inverness Sheriff Court had previously been told that the incident began after their victim, Stephen Dick, mistakenly called MacLeod’s mother.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told the court that Mr Dick’s friend, Dylan Bannister, then received a phone call from an angry MacLeod and could hear MacGregor in the background and, as they both “sounded out of it”, he terminated the call.
But later that evening, Mr Bannister and a woman in the flat, heard people outside in the communal corridor shouting: “You better let us f*****g in.”
MacLeod and MacGregor had been joined by Marello.
Ms Duffy-Welsh added: “Dylan Bannister looked out of the peephole in the door and observed Marello pointing at the door with a crowbar and wearing a green balaclava, a blue top with the hood up over his head and wearing disposable gloves.
“There were two loud bangs at the front door and it burst open.”
Sustained and brutal attack
The prosecutor said the three men entered and shouted at Stephen Dick to wake him up as he was asleep on the couch.
She continued: “MacGregor punched Stephen Dick in the face several times and Marello struck Stephen Dick on the thigh with a crowbar.
“MacLeod then jumped on top of Stephen Dick and repeatedly punched him on the face before striking him with his knee in the face.
“Stephen Dick was crying and shouting that he couldn’t breathe.
MacLeod shouted: “You can’t breathe can you?” and then placed his arm around his victim’s neck so that his throat was in the crook of his arm.
He tightened his grip, squeezing Dick’s neck preventing him from being able to breathe.
Stephen Dick was choking and MacLeod shouted at him: ‘I am going to f****** kill you.’
Ms Duffy-Welsh said: “MacGregor then grabbed MacLeod and pulled him off and pinned him to the floor preventing a further attack.”
‘I hope he dies wherever he is’
The trio fled the flat but before they did, MacLeod noticed Dylan Bannister had cash in his hand and he wrestled it out.
“The quantity was £30,” Ms Duffy-Welsh added.
She added that police were called and later arrested the trio in Harbour Road, finding a crowbar and a mallet in Marello’s backpack.
Stephen Dick required hospital treatment to a broken nose and a number of cuts.
MacLeod was originally charged with the attempted murder and told officers: “I hope he dies wherever he is.”
All three men admitted a charge of hamesucken – an ancient charge meaning forced entry to a property and then assaulting Dick to his severe injury.
Marello, of Fir Place, Inverness, admitted possessing two offensive weapons and MacLeod, of Galloway Drive, Inverness, also pleaded guilty to a further charge of robbery.
‘This was an appalling offence of violence’
Marello’s solicitor, Duncan Henderson, asked Sheriff Gary Aitken to consider “taking the unusual step of imposing a community payback order, for which he has been assessed by social workers as suitable.”
Sheriff Aitken rejected that option and jailed him for 27 months, saying: “You clearly attended there expecting violence and to mete it out. It is a brutal assault.”
MacLeod’s lawyer, Graham Mann, also appealed to the sheriff not to jail his client either, who, he said, had “a history with Stephen Dick”.
Mr Mann said: “He has a hazy recollection. He was taking drugs and drink and he grabbed blister packs of drugs from the flat, leaving him virtually comatose for three days afterwards.”
Jailing MacLeod for two years, Sheriff Aitken told his solicitor: “This was an appalling offence of violence. Being out of your face on drugs is no excuse.”
First offender MacGregor, of Old Evanton Road, Dingwall, had sentence further deferred until July 2 because his background report had not yet been completed. His bail was continued.
