A MAN has been charged with an attempted murder bid in a tenement close in Dundee — and then allegedly hiding in a wardrobe to avoid detection.

John McGrandle is accused of trying to kill David Kettles in a block of flats in the city last year.

Following the attack, McGrandle is then said to have left the building and hidden himself away inside a cupboard at a property just over a mile-and-a-half away in a bid to avoid being found by the police.

He will stand trial on the claims next month.

It is alleged that during the incident the 42-year-old pushed Mr Kettles down the stairs inside a close on Court Street North on November 18.

Mr Kettles is then said to have been struck on the body with a knife by the accused. In the charge it is stated that McGrandle did “previously evince malice and ill will” towards Mr Kettles.

McGrandle is also facing a further three separate charges.

The first is an accusation of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

It is claimed that McGrandle ditched the knife used in the alleged attack in a hedge.

It is also claimed that McGrandle hid in a wardrobe at a property in Dundee’s Brantwood Avenue, near the Law.

Court papers state that this was done in an attempt to “avoid detection, arrest and prosecution” from pursuing police officers.

The other two charges relate to claims that he assaulted a police constable and that he struggled with police officers.

McGrandle appeared at the High Court in Glasgow for a preliminary hearing on March 15.

A trial has now been set for McGrandle at the same court on May 16.

According to the latest Police Scotland figures there were two reported attempted murders across the city of Dundee in the first nine months of 2015/16.

That’s the same number as were recorded in 2014/15.

Both incidents from 2015/16 were detected by officers, but one case from the previous year remains undetected.

In total, between April and December 2015, Dundee had 172 ‘group one’ crimes, which includes murder, serious assault and robbery and assault.

A MAN who was incriminated in a murder trial today admitted carrying out a violent assault yards from the scene of the fatal attack.

James Kelbie was blamed for the murder of James Getty during the trial of Jamie Cumming — dubbed Britain’s most feckless father after having 17 children with 15 different women.

Mr Getty was stabbed to death by Cumming outside the Maltman pub in Dundee’s Mains Road in June 2012.

But, during his trial the following year at the High Court in Dundee, Cumming tried to pin the blame on Kelbie, claiming he had struck the fatal blows outside an event that was being held for Kelbie’s 50th birthday.

A jury rejected that claim and Cumming was later sentenced to life in jail.

However, today Kelbie appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court where he admitted carrying out a violent attack on a pub landlord at a bar yards from the Maltman.

The court was told Kelbie had been barred from the Bowbridge Bar in Dundee’s Main Street, fewer than 200 yards from the scene of Mr Getty’s murder.

He went back on December 8 last year and asked licensee Steven Tosh to come outside for a chat.

Fiscal depute Trina Sinclair said as soon as Mr Tosh got into the pub’s vestibule Kelbie launched his attack.

She said: “The complainer assumed the accused may have wanted to apologise for the behaviour that got him barred. On entering the vestibule of the locus the accused punched the complainer on the head.

“That was unexpected. The complainer was told to leave and the accused punched him again. A passing motorist saw the disturbance and contacted police. The complainer retaliated, knocking the accused to the ground before going back inside.”

Kelbie, 53, of The Willows, Dundee, pleaded guilty on summary complaint to a charge of assault.

Defence solicitor George Donnelly said: “The complainer is no shrinking violet and landed a beauty of a punch on Mr Kelbie, who was clearly under the influence of drink.

“He does have a record but the last analagous conviction is some eight years ago.”

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael imposed a community payback order with 80 hours’ unpaid work on Kelbie.

A MAN has been charged with a series of historic sex attacks dating back more than a quarter of a century.

Keith Deary, 46, is facing allegations over alleged sexual assaults that are said to have taken place across Dundee and north-east Fife.

The alleged incidents are said to have taken place in locations including a beach, a public hall, and in a car.

Deary, of Main Street, Guardbridge, will stand trial at Dundee Sheriff Court after denying the charges against him.

He is alleged to have assaulted five different people over a period of more than three years.

It’s alleged that Deary sexually assaulted a man — who was a child at the time — in a public hall in St Andrews, on one occasion between the late 1980s and early 1990s.

He is also charged with sexually assaulting a second man, who was a child at the time, at a property in St Andrews, on one occasion.

That incident is also alleged to have happened between the late ’80s and early ’90s.

Deary is further charged with sexually assaulting a third man, at a property in St Andrews and at a property in Dundee.

He is said to have carried this out on various occasions between two dates in the early ’90s.

He is also alleged to have sexually assaulted a fourth man, at Kingsbarns beach, on various occasions over the course of one year in the early ’90s.

He is further charged with sexually assaulting a fifth man, within a car in St Andrews, on various occasions over the course of one year in the early ’90s.

Deary will face a trial over the allegations on July 6.

Several areas of Scotland have seen a rise in reports of alleged historical sexual crimes in recent times.

The Tele told earlier this week how Dundee was among those areas where the number of reported sexual offences had risen since the formation of Police Scotland, with much of that put down to more people coming forward to report alleged historic offences.

In 2014/15, there were 46 historic sexual assaults reported to police in Fife, but the numbers went down with just 18 reported in the first nine months of 2015/16.

A man has been arrested after reports of someone acting “suspiciously” in Dysart, Fife.

Police were called in the early hours of this morning.

Inspector Tom Brown who is based at Levenmouth police station, said: “Officers were called to the Townhead area of Dysart at around 12:30am on Monday, following a report of a man acting suspiciously.

“The 48 year-old male was quickly traced and charged with a breach of the peace.

“He is expected to appear in court at a later date.”

A STALKER bombarded a student with Facebook messages for four years and made threats that his victim would “get hurt”.

Spurned Gregor Sharpe, 24, was spotted at Fiona Leeper’s work and even said he was going to go to her house, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.

The pair had been taught at Carnoustie High School at the same time but were never close.

But when Ms Leeper became a first-year student at university in 2011 she began receiving Facebook messages from Sharpe.

He claimed he missed and loved her and wanted to meet up.

Ms Leeper replied that she wasn’t interested, asking him to leave her alone and blocking him from her Facebook.

Fiscal depute Trina Sinclair told the court: “A few months later the complainer again received Facebook messages from the accused using a new account, again stating that he missed her, loved her and wanted to meet up.

“The messages continued for four years. The complainer said she ignored them, but found them annoying.”

However, in January this year, Ms Leeper was speaking to a work colleague about the messages and showed him a photo of Sharpe.

The doorman said he recognised him and had seen him “hanging around” her workplace.

On January 26, Sharpe then messaged Ms Leeper stating: “I am coming to see you in person right now. See you soon.”

Ms Sinclair said “the complainer was at home alone and she felt scared” and asked a friend to come round.

Sharpe never showed up but mentioned the friend’s name in another message.

He later told Ms Leeper: “If you don’t forgive me, you will get hurt, not me, Fiona. I hope I don’t bump into you again Fiona, for your sake.”

When Ms Leeper said she was going to call the police, Sharpe said: “I’m sorry.”

He later told officers he was “curious” about her relationship with the friend and claimed his relationship with Ms Leeper was “unique” and “strange”.

Sheriff Brown deferred sentence until June 6 for a psychological report. And he warned Sharpe: “If you pester this lady again I will not hesitate to lock you up for as long as I can.”

Sharpe, of Hilltown, admitted that between September 1 2011 and February 8 this year, at Hilltown, the Central Library at the Wellgate, and elsewhere, he caused Ms Leeper fear or alarm by repeatedly sending her messages, including telling her he knew personal details of her life and making threats and abusive remarks.

A man who superimposed his own face on to sick child sex abuse pictures was today facing jail.

James Boyack’s home in Dundee’s Clepington Road was raided following intelligence that he was in possession of indecent images of children.

E-crime cops found hundreds of indecent images and videos – including some which featured animals.

Further sickening images showing children being sexually abused were found, including pictures where Boyack had digitally added his face over the top of the men seen in the images.

Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court that following his arrest on those charges in October 2014 Boyack moved to Stirling’s Bannockburn Road.

He was then raided again in June last year – and was again found in possession of child porn.

Boyack’s offences come 18 years after he was convicted of almost identical crimes.

In 1998 he received a two-and-a-half year jail term for abusing a three-year-old and making “composite” photographs by taking videos of unsuspecting children and turning them into pornographic images.

Boyack rocked back and forth on his seat in the dock as Miss Robertson told the court: “He fully admitted having downloaded indecent images of children.

“He stated that this behaviour made him feel ashamed and that he would frequently wipe his computer’s memory to remove the temptation, before downloading further images.

“In total, across the eight devices seized across the two loci, were 194 indecent images and 18 indecent videos of children, as well as 262 extreme pornographic images were recovered.

“There were 97 images and 18 videos at category A, 43 images were at category B and 54 images were at category C.

“The indecent images of children had been downloaded between December 9 2012 and June 17 2015.

“The extreme pornographic images had been downloaded between June 8 2014 and October 27 2014.

Miss Robertson added: “The internet search history of the laptop was consistent with the accused actively searching for indecent images of children.”

Boyack, 70, now of Inverness, pleaded guilty on indictment to charges under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act.

Defence solicitor Iain Myles said: “I’d ask in the first instance that reports be called for and his bail be continued meantime.”

Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC deferred sentence until next month for social work background reports and released him on bail ahead of sentencing.

She said: “These are serious matters particularly because you have a previous conviction for the same thing.

“That was some time ago, in 1998, but nonetheless it is a very serious matter.”

Boyack was placed on the sex offenders’ register meantime.

In his 1998 offence appeal judges were told Boyack “regarded himself as a ‘monster'”.

It emerged during that case that Boyack had made secret videos of children then turned them in to pornographic images.

A DUNDEE gun enthusiast has been jailed for five years for storing an illegal weapon.

Paul Markie was found with a Smith and Wesson pistol and ammunition in his work locker in Dundee last April.

Markie, 55, who lived in Albert Street at the time of the offence, told police he had the items for farmer David Evans, whom he knew through their shared passion for guns.

Evans is currently serving 16 years in jail after being caught with a haul of weapons including Uzis following a raid by West Midlands police.

Markie was caught after he left legitimate gun parts on a train when he was travelling to Inverness to meet another collector.

The painter travelled from his Dundee home last April but, after realising he was on the wrong train, got off leaving his holdall behind. The bag, which contained parts of a deactivated gun was eventually found by rail staff before police were called in.

When officers raided his works locker they found a fully operational Smith and Wesson and ammunition. Another 500 bullets were found in a burn.

The court heard Markie traded in “obsolete, antique and deactivated” firearms and parts with contacts he met via the web, magazines and at gun shows.

Ronnie Renucci QC, defending, said Markie had been involved with a legitimate hobby but had panicked after he left the bag of gun parts on a train.

He told the court: “He’s been described by the writer of the report as a ‘model citizen’ in the community with a settled home life.

“He’s hopeful that when he’s released from his sentence he’ll settle in the system although he does recognise that a conviction of this type will cause him some difficulty.”

Judge Lord Burns told Markie he had pleaded guilty to a very serious offence.

He said: “What possessed you to take these catastrophic decisions I can’t imagine.

“You must have known full well the risks you were running because of your knowledge and interest in firearms.”

Markie was sentenced to the minimum five years in prison for five firearms offences.

A THIEF who stole elephant tusks valued at £20,000 from his landlord’s house has been jailed for 14 months.

Aurimas Kyliokas talked Nazir Valihahomed, a colleague at the restaurant he was working in in Dundee, into giving him a room at his home in the city’s Carseview Gardens.

Six months later Kyliokas, a Lithuanian national, fled having stolen two elephant tusks, two ivory statues and £400 worth of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court that none of the items Kyliokas stole have ever been found by police.

She said: “Mr Valimahomed claims that the elephant tusks were worth £20,000.

“Police were called and he later spoke to a work colleague who said that the accused had been asking her questions about the value of ivory.

“Police also traced two men who told them the accused had tried to sell them the elephant tusks a few weeks after the theft.”

Kyliokas then went on to break into a newsagents in the Lochee area of Dundee – stealing £3000 worth of cigarettes and £30 in cash.

Miss Robertson added: “CCTV clearly showed the accused smashing the window of the store shortly before 5am on November 5 2015.

“He is then seen walking down the street carrying several carrier bags of cigarettes.

“None of the stolen property has been recovered.”

Kyliokas, 33, a prisoner at HMP Grampian, pleaded guilty on indictment to two charges of theft by housebreaking.

Representing himself, Kyliokas told the court through an interpreter: “I would like to apologise to these people to whom I have done these things.

“I am sorry for my deeds.

“When I did these things I was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“I’m ready for any punishment you are going to give me.”

Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC jailed Kyliokas for 14 months and one week.

She said: “I’m in no doubt these offences warrant custody.

“They are all the more serious standing your record.”

A MAN has been jailed for six months at Dundee Sheriff Court after admitting having a stolen van and being in possession of drugs.

Gary Cummings, 26, of Gleneagles Avenue, pleaded guilty to reset of the van in Myrekirk Road on March 24.

He also admitted using the van at the same address on March 27 without having insurance and while also being disqualified from driving and not holding a licence authorising him to use the type of vehicle he drove. When Cummings was arrested by police on the same day, he then tried to evade detection and prosecution by claiming to be a 26-year-old man called John Lachran.

Cummings was further found to be in possession of diazepam, a Class C drug, on the same date.

The court heard that Cummings had been in and out of custody since 2005, and every year since then he had spent some period of it behind bars.

As well as the six-month jail term, Cummings was also disqualified from driving from four years.

Sheriff Brown said of Cummings: “Social work, who compiled a report on you, said you appear to see crime as meeting your remedial needs — when you want something or need something, you just go and get it.

“That it’s against the law does not make any difference to you and you can’t see why it is wrong.”

THE son of an amputee, who was viciously assaulted, said today it was “absolutely disgusting” his father’s attacker was admonished.

Murray Dewar, of Hepburn Street, Dundee, struck Jack Wemyss, 83, on the head with a shopping basket at Tesco on Strathmartine Road last year.

The attack left Jack with a horrific eye injury and Dewar later pleaded guilty to the incident.

After considering Dewar’s behaviour since the attack, Sheriff Alistair Carmichael admonished the 45-year-old today at Dundee Sheriff Court.

After the sentence was delivered, Jack’s son Peter made an emotional outburst in court branding it a “shameful” decision.

Speaking to the Tele, he described it “absolute disgusting” and now plans to lodge a complaint with the Crown Office.

Peter said: “The decision made was unbelievable. Any decent human being would be outraged by this. He’s a double amputee who is defenceless to the point of being helpless.

“I’ve spoken to charities and other people who have said the accused should have been charged with aggravated assault with a weapon — he smashed a wire shopping basket in my father’s face.

“This has changed my father’s life forever. He had a hard enough existence as it was; he’s a double amputee and lives alone. This has destroyed his confidence. He’s scared to go out now and he has depression, which I think is a direct result of this.

“He feels like he’s been abandoned by the judicial system. He said to me, ‘I feel like a worthless old man in a wheelchair, and society has just washed its hands of me’.

“I’m shocked, outraged, despondent and disgusted. I thought common sense would have prevailed and he would have been given community service and given a face-to-face apology.”

Jack, of Coldside, said he found the verdict “very hard to accept” and added: “It’s disgraceful really. I’ve had phone calls this morning, even from the police, saying that they can’t understand it. I feel terrible. I’ve got to go and get an eye test because I think it’s affected my vision. I don’t read as well as I did before this.

“I don’t seem to sleep at nights now either. The people I know from the complex I go to have said they’ve noticed a difference in me since it happened.

“I find this very hard to accept. He should at least have been fined though. Justice hasn’t been done. He dropped the basket and ran out of the door after he hit me — that’s a sign of guilt.

“I’m just going to try and get on with things as best as I can, but with having both my legs removed I’m in a bad enough state as it is.

“I don’t wish any harm to the man though.

“I even said a prayer for him at church the other night.”

A TEENAGER has admitted having sex with three children in Dundee.

Kyle Leonard, 19, committed the offences on separate occasions between the winter of 2013 and the spring of 2014, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.

He admitted to having sex with a child on various occasions between early 2013 and late 2013 at a property in Dundee.

He further admitted having sex with another child at another location within the city between 2013 and 2014.

And he admitted a charge of having sex with a third child over the course of two months in 2014 at another property in Dundee.

Sentence for Leonard — whose address was given in court as Polmont Prison — was deferred for reports until May 17.

Meanwhile, Leonard also appeared on a charge that he shouted and swore inside Dundee Sheriff Court on a date earlier this year.

The former Lawton Terrace resident admitted that, on February 4, at the court, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner — which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm — in that he repeatedly shouted and swore.

He committed the offence while he was on bail.

Sentence on that was also deferred until May 17.

Laurie Matthew, of Dundee-based Eighteen and Under, says her charity offers support to those who have been victims of cases like these.

She said: “A person of that age is very impressionable and would possibly be flattered by the attention of a young man.

“The child would not have the social skills or life experience, though, to manage such a relationship.

“A child would find it difficult to resist pressures to have sex as it would be outwith the youngster’s experience.

“While the child might be unaware of how this might affect them at the time due to being emotionally immature, the chances are that children who have experienced this might well end up with emotional and psychological problems.

“In Dundee there is support for young survivors of such abuse.

“Eighteen And Under provides a high level of confidential support and young people can just drop in of an evening or make an appoint, if preferred.

“There is also Victim Support and WRASAC who also provide support.”

She added: “Regarding the offender, not enough work is done to stop these men reoffending and unfortunately their sentencing does not reflect the seriousness of the crime.

“Abuse can affect survivors their whole lives but these men often only spend a few months in prison.”

A man has been charged during a police crackdown on bogus workmen and doorstep crime.

Police Scotland confirmed that a 44-year-old man had been detained in connection with crimes of dishonesty and would face court tomorrow.

A spokesperson said: “As part of Operation Monarda, Police Scotland’s ongoing initiative to target bogus workmen and raise awareness of doorstep crime, a 44-year old-man was detained in Dickson Avenue, Dundee on Friday.

“He has been charged in connection with a number of crimes of dishonesty, including theft, at addresses in Dundee and Arbroath that happened between February and April this year and he is expected appear at Dundee Sheriff Court tomorrow.”

A TEENAGER, who pulled out a knife and threatened to cut a girl’s throat before pushing her down stairs, has had his sentence deferred for good behaviour.

Ryan Finlayson, 18, of Badenoch Place, appeared at Dundee Sheriff Court where he was ordered to remain at home between the hours of 7pm and 7am for six monthsas part of his sentence for a separate offence in December, in which he spat on a woman and shouted and swore at police officers.

The court had previously heard how Finlayson had stabbed a door with the knife after making the threat to the girl in a Dundee flat in June.

Violence broke out after the girl had asked Finlayson to leave and he refused.

He pulled a knife out of his pocket, told her he was going to “cut her throat”, then stabbed the door with the knife. Finlayson then left the flat and turned and spat on the front door. He kicked a window in the common close and the girl went into the close to get him to leave. He then pushed the girl down some stairs.

Defence solicitor John Boyle said the incident happened “in a background of fairly heavy drinking” by Finlayson. He added: “This led to offending behaviour and he has addressed this issue.

“He is getting medical assistance for his mental health issues. His concern of going to custody is considerable and he would be vulnerable given his mental health difficulties.”

Finlayson had sentence deferred for good behaviour. Sheriff Tom Hughes said: “For the more serious matter, I’m going to hold the position for six months to see if you comply with the restriction of liberty order and you don’t drink like you did in the past. If you don’t comply, you are going to custody — no matter how vulnerable you think you will be.”

Finlayson was handed a restriction of liberty order for six months, which means he has to remain at home between 7pm and 7am for an incident in December.

He pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by shouting, swearing, threatening people and police officers with violence and damage garden lighting at Balunie Crescent and Douglas Road, on December 12. One the same date, at Balunie Crescent, he admitted assaulting a woman and spitting on her head.

A man threatened a shop worker with a large hunting knife after the assistant refused to sell him beer.

Sean Thomson, 26, had written his own name on the knife’s eight-inch blade with a marker pen before the incident.

Thomson, of Dunholm Road, tucked the knife into the front of his jeans then tried to buy beer from the Co-op on Charleston Drive.

Employee Kyle Balfour, 23, refused to sell Thomson alcohol but he became aggressive.

Fiscal Depute Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court the incident happened on August 10 last year.

She said: “The accused approached the till, staffed by Mr Balfour, with four bottles of beer. Mr Balfour refused to serve the accused beer as he formed the opinion he was drunk.

“The accused was not pleased with this and started to argue with Mr Balfour, saying ‘mate, I’m not drunk, I’m just out of Bell Street so I want to get drunk.’ ”

Thomson then shouted offensive comments at Mr Balfour and moved towards the exit.

He stopped in the doorway and turned and lifted his top, revealing the large knife tucked into his jeans.

Thomson then shouted: “I’ll wait and see you at the end.”

After police were called, officers reviewed CCTV and traced Thomson nearby, with the fiscal adding: “He began to run when he saw police but they gave chase and apprehended him outside his home address.”

He was searched and found with a hunting knife.

Thomson admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, and having a knife, both at the Co-op, Charleston Drive, on August 10 last year.

Sentence was deferred until June 2.

The son of an amputee who was smashed in the face with a shopping basket is to take his father’s case to the Sheriff Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

Murray Dewar, of the city’s Hepburn Street, struck Jack Wemyss, 83, on the head with a shopping basket at Tesco in Strathmartine Road last year.

The attack left Jack — who has had part of his legs amputated due to diabetes — with a horrific eye injury.

Dewar pleaded guilty to the incident.

After considering Dewar’s behaviour since the attack, Sheriff Alistair Carmichael admonished the 45-year-old at Dundee Sheriff Court last Thursday.

Jack’s son, Peter Wemyss, said after finding out he could launch an appeal he plans to challenge the decision.

He said: “After hearing about how widely this guy has been condemned after the story appeared in the Tele, that’s what I’ve decided to do.

“What gets to me the most is that he never even apologised for what he did.”

Peter now plans to write to the Sheriff Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

In the meantime, he has spoken to the office of his MP, Chris Law, to arrange a meeting next week, as well as taking advice from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the charity Age Concern.

Peter thanked the Tele for highlighting his father’s case since he was first assaulted.

He said that hearing of the public support had “raised his father’s spirits” after he became depressed.

Peter said: “Dad’s so chuffed and moved by it all.

“He hadn’t been himself since the attack and it really shook his confidence.

“Dad told me he felt like ‘society has just washed its hands of him’.

“But the support from the public has gone a long way to making him feel a lot better about the whole situation.

“When he heard about the comments on the Tele Facebook page he was delighted. It’s boosted his confidence and changed his outlook.

“He realises that the public are disgusted by what the guy did, and the fact he basically got away with it.

“We think that everyone agrees that justice wasn’t done.”

A 31-year-old has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of murdering another man in his Perthshire home.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Nikola Zhulev was told he must serve at least 21 years before he would be eligible for parole.

The court heard that some time during the evening of April 19 into April 20, Zhulev assaulted and murdered Alan Gardner by striking him on the head with a metal frying pan and then smothering him at the property in Balbeggie.

The heroin addict attempted to dig a shallow grave but was caught before he could dispose of the body after Mr Gardner’s ex-wife called police as she had been unable to contact him for a number of days.

Speaking following the sentencing, Jennifer Harrower, Procurator Fiscal for Major Crime, said: “After the murder Zhulev showed no remorse and did his best to evade justice but has now had to answer for this appalling crime.”

Two thugs who fractured another man’s face in two places during a Dundee city centre attack have been jailed.

Omar Rafiq, 28, and Lee Murphy, 33, were both given prison sentences at Dundee Sheriff Court today after admitting assault to severe injury.

Rafiq, of Ladywell Avenue, was jailed for seven months and two weeks.

And Murphy, a prisoner at Perth, was jailed for 16 months and three weeks.

The court heard that the pair launched an attack on Paul Gordon in the early hours of December 17 last year.

Mr Gordon went to buy food from Corfu takeaway on North Lindsay Street, after a night consuming alcohol in city centre pubs.

Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed said: “The complainer left the takeaway and accused Rafiq approached him in the street and pointed at him.

“Rafiq then walked away from the complainer, but came back again and punched him on the right side of his head.

“The complainer staggered back, into the doorway of the shop.”

Mr Gordon’s nose was bleeding and he was given tissues by staff at Corfu.

At this point Murphy was seen on CCTV to gesture towards the takeaway, then approach Mr Gordon as he left the shop.

The fiscal continued: “Accused Murphy then punched the complainer on the left side of his face, which caused the complainer to fall back.

“Accused Murphy was held back from the complainer by his friends and the complainer got into a taxi.”

Mr Gordon attended A&E at Ninewells Hospital with two facial fractures — one in his cheekbone and the other in his
jaw.

Rafiq and Murphy both admitted that while acting together they assaulted Mr Gordon by punching him repeatedly on the head, to his severe injury, at North Lindsay Street, on December 17 last year.

Solicitor John Boyle, defending Rafiq, said: “He had been drinking alcohol and offensive comments were made. He knows he should not have reacted in that way.”

Sheriff Simon Collins, addressing Rafiq, said: “You hold more culpability as you struck the first blow, but you have fewer previous convictions.”

The court heard it was Murphy’s third conviction of assault to severe injury.

An eight-month supervised release order will follow his jail term.

A man who stabbed his flatmate in the heart after claiming she refused to have sex with him has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years for her murder.

Gary Stevenson killed 25-year-old Katy Rourke at the flat they shared in Govan, Glasgow, in December last year after the pair had been drinking.

The 27-year-old “totally lost control” and repeatedly punched Ms Rourke, originally from Broughty Ferry, before getting a kitchen knife and stabbing her three times.

He pleaded guilty to the murder last month and the case had been continued for background reports.

Jailing him for life at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, judge Lady Rae said he should reflect on having “needlessly and brutally” taken Ms Rourke’s life.

During last month’s hearing, the court was told Stevenson had drank half a bottle of Buckfast before he and Ms Rourke shared a bottle of vodka on the night of December 29.

Stevenson said they had sex but when Ms Rourke refused to have sex again, as she had work in the morning, he attacked her.

He told investigators: “I lost control. I didn’t think about the consequence of my actions. Once it started it just took off.”

A post-mortem examination revealed a stab wound to Ms Rourke’s chest had gone through her heart and she had suffered bruising, cuts and blunt force trauma to the head and face.

Stevenson left a note in the flat saying he wanted to be cremated and travelled to North Berwick, East Lothian, where he attempted to take his own life, before calling police.

He later told officers he needed to face up to what he did and “give Katy’s family justice”.

There was sobbing heard in the public gallery as Lady Rae passed sentence, telling Stevenson: “You killed Ms Rourke because she rejected your sexual advances and because she refused to engage in sexual intercourse.

“You were simply, on this occasion, not prepared to take no for an answer and you deliberately killed her.”

First offender Stevenson made a written statement to the court which was read on his behalf by his defence QC Donald Findlay.

In it he described himself as a “pressure cooker” before the murder and said he deserved the “long, dark road ahead”.

He added: “I know that nothing I say will ever bring Katy back or reverse what has happened but I feel that I owe it to everyone affected by this.”

He said he would go back and change what happened and swap places with Ms Rourke, who he described as a “good person”, if he could.

“Katy did not deserve to die, she did nothing wrong, she had her whole life in front of her and I robbed her of that.

“I wish I would wake up and Katy was okay but it’s not a dream, it’s a wide awake living nightmare,” he said.

Stevenson put forward what he described as his “own interpretation” of why the incident happened but said it was “not an excuse”.

“The truth is that there is no single reason, no simple explanation, but the way I would describe it was that I was a pressure cooker and the pressure had been building for a long, long time,” he said.

“The wheels were coming off in many areas of my personal life.”

Stevenson said he had been drinking alcohol every day in “an attempt to self-medicate” instead of seeking help.

“Katy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when I finally cracked, it was not her fault and I regret it so much every day.

“I deserve every second of the long, dark road which rises in front of me.”

Lady Rae said she noted with “some concern” that a social work report had “detected no victim empathy or remorse” on Stevenson’s part.

She said: “I have listened carefully to Mr Findlay’s very full submissions on your behalf, together with his quotation of words written by you, displaying, on the face of it, considerable remorse and regret for your actions and an appreciation of the extreme harm that you have caused.

“You should reflect on the fact that you have needlessly and brutally destroyed a young life and from my reading of the victim impact statements from Ms Rourke’s parents and her sisters, you have devastated her family.”

A MAN has been charged over a series of alleged sex attacks at a college campus in Dundee.

Jamie Robertson, 24, of Dundee Street in Carnoustie, pleaded not guilty to 10 charges against him.

All of the charges of which he has been accused are of a sexual nature.

He will now stand trial at Dundee Sheriff Court later this year.

Eight of the charges allege that Robertson sexually assaulted three women.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place on various occasions at the Dundee and Angus College campus at the city’s Gardyne Road.

The incidents are alleged to have happened between August 2014 and March this year. The other two charges claim that Robertson engaged in sexual communication with two of the women at the same location and between the same dates.

Robertson will stand trial at Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday July 29.

An intermediate diet will be held on Tuesday July 12.

Dundee and Angus College has two campuses in the city, one at the Kingsway, plus the Gardyne one.

The college also has a campus in Arbroath, as well as learning centres across the Angus region.

A spokesman at Dundee and Angus College confirmed the institution is aware of the alleged incidents.

He added: “The college has very robust policies in place and we take our duty of care towards staff and students very seriously.”

Dundee and Angus College Students’ Association declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Education Institute of Scotland said: “In the instance where a criminal act has taken place we would always advise members to involve the police.”

A MAN has been charged with carrying a gun and ammunition in a public park in Dundee.

Graham Kyle, 48, is accused of having the weapon — an unloaded .22 air rifle — and .22 ammunition without authority at Camperdown Park.

Kyle, of Duncraig Road, denies the alleged offence and is set to stand trial at Dundee Sheriff Court on May 27.

The alleged offence is said to have happened on September 13.

Councillor John Alexander, convener of the city council’s neighbourhood services committee — whose remit includes green spaces and the environment — said that rules around guns had been tightened in recent years.

He said: “I wasn’t aware of this alleged incident — that pre-dates my time as convener of neighbourhood services —but clearly it is a cause for concern.

“My particular party, the SNP, has tightened air gun laws since we managed to secure the devolvement of them from Westminster and we want to take that forward.

“They were brought about after the death of a young boy who was shot in the head in 2005.

“Now, people have to explain why they have an air gun and we also want to know who exactly has one.”

He continued: “There are people walking dogs and children playing in parks, so we need to keep them safe.

“Camperdown is one of our most used public spaces.”

Mr Alexander insisted Dundee’s parks were safe environments to venture into, but urged anyone with concerns to contact the authorities at the earliest opportunity.

He said: “We work very closely with all the agencies in the council and Police Scotland.

“We also have the community safety hub in Lochee which includes the fire service, the police and community safety wardens in there so they work together with us so we know where there are issues and what we will target.

“We would ask people who come across anything of concern to report it to the authorities.

“But I would say there is no concern from my point of view that walking around Caird Park, Camperdown Park or any other green space in Dundee is not safe to do so.”