A man and woman from Fraserburgh have been jailed after admitting endangering a man’s life in a violent street assault.
Leeanne Chapman – who was left with blood-splattered trainers – later tearfully told her partner she thought she had killed someone.
Chapman, 40, and Justin Cumming, 46, both appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court for sentencing over the prolonged attack, which involved stamping on a man’s head in Fraserburgh’s town centre last year.
Another woman, Wendy Watt, 50, was also accused of the assault, but charges against her were dropped.
Chapman and Watt also admitted assaulting a woman in a property in Fraserburgh on a different date. Charges against Cumming for that offence were dropped.
Chapman admitted assaulting her ex-partner by punching her on the head and throttling her on June 16 last year.
Watt was charged with assaulting a woman by pulling her hair and punching her head.
The court heard Chapman, her girlfriend and Cumming had been at a property in Fraserburgh’s North Street to visit a female friend on June 16 last year and had all stayed the night.
Fiscal depute Jennifer Pritchard said Chapman and Cumming left the house the following afternoon, returning around 6pm, however the door had gone unanswered for some time before that.
Woman choked partner
When she eventually gained entry to the house Chapman “suddenly and without warning” began attacking her partner, punching her to the head and accusing her of sleeping with the other female in the property.
Ms Pritchard said: “Chapman had her hand on her neck and was choking her, before stating ‘why did you do this?’ and ‘did you f**k, you must have been riding [witness].”
The other female witness said she had been asleep on the sofa but was woken by being “pulled by her hair” to the floor.
“She was being punched to the head,” Ms Pritchard said. “She woke up and saw it was accused Watt who was punching her.”
Cumming pulled Chapman off her then partner, the court was told, and all parties “calmed down” with no further altercations to speak of – all three accused left the house at 8pm.
The court was then told that two other witnesses, a man and a woman, saw Chapman on the High Street in the company of three others.
Street attack lasted 30 seconds
As they walked past, Chapman said she “wanted her money” to the female, the court heard, and “an altercation ensued”.
The male witness tried to separate the two women and Chapman punched him.
“On doing so a fight ensued between [him] and Chapman, where he attempts to strike Chapman twice, before being overwhelmed and brought to the ground.”
Chapman and Cumming were seen to kick the man on the head and body for 30 seconds, Ms Pritchard told the court, “leaving him motionless on the ground”.
“Chapman then stamped on his head, before Cumming kicked him on the head,” Ms Pritchard said.
“Cumming returned a short time later to collect items scattered during the struggle and was seen to further kick the man to the body – before leaving the scene with Chapman.”
The incident had been captured on CCTV cameras.
Chapman later tearfully told her partner that she “thought she had killed someone”, the court heard, and her trainers were covered in blood.
Police were called to assist the man lying on the High Street and ambulance staff also attended, but he refused to go to hospital, being “deemed fit to be left in his own care”, Ms Pritchard said.
“The man sustained bruising to his right eye, bridge of his nose, swollen top lip, numerous bumps to the back of his head, and scratches and grazes to his neck and arms. He was treated by paramedics at the scene but refused further medical treatment.”
Defence solicitor Iain Jane spoke for Cumming and said his client had no previous conviction for violence, only public disorder dating back to 2018.
Urging the sheriff to hand out a community-based sentence for the assault, he said: “All parties were under the influence.
“He accepts it was not justified. The male had struck Miss Chapman and he intervened. He lost his temper and lost control.”
‘Theoretical’ danger to life
Mr Jane explained that after the initial assault on the man, Cumming had returned and bent down to retrieve items he had dropped and claimed the man had said he “would f**king kill him for this”.
Mr Jane added: “That is when he struck him with a kick while he was still on the ground. [The complainer] then leaves the scene and goes to a friend’s house – and refused to go to hospital.
“While it reads and sounds more serious – the circumstances are more redolent of what happened.
“The danger of life was theoretical because of the stamp on the head.”
Speaking for Watt – whose address was given as West Road, Fraserburgh – Leonard Birkenshaw told the court his client “regrets being caught up in it” and argued that the woman’s injuries were “superficial” and the case could have called in a lesser court.
He added: “After the assault they all returned to the house – all happy.”
Chapman’s defence solicitor Sam Milligan said he knew his client had reached the threshold for custody and spoke of her “belated maturity” since the incidents last year.
A previous record of convictions was also spoken to – one including the same complainer.
In mitigation of the street assault, he said: “There was bad blood between the parties relating to monies out aside for funeral flowers. More people became involved, and matters got to where we are today.”
Sentencing remarks
Sheriff Philip Mann said to Cumming: “This was a very serious and concerted attack – with no provocation of self-defence.
“Kicking and stamping a person on the head could easily result in a catastrophic loss of life.”
Cumming, of Howatt Park, Sandhaven, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Sheriff Philip Mann said he took a “serious view” of an assault which involved restricting someone’s breathing and sentenced Chapman, of Buchan Road, Fraserburgh, to 14 weeks for the attack on her partner.
For the street attack, he handed her 21 months in prison “to be served consecutively”.
He also imposed a non-harassment order that Chapman does not contact her now ex-partner for two years.
To Watt, he said he accepted Mr Birkenshaw’s submission that the case could have called in a lesser court and handed her 45 hours of unpaid work, but warned if she failed to comply a jail sentence could be imposed instead.
