A thug who beat up and robbed an Aberdeen reveller has been handed a prison sentence.
Maxwell Stewart, 33, was part of a five-person gang that violently attacked the man as he made his way home from Aberdeen city centre.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how on August 21 this year the victim was approached by a woman before being swarmed by the gang who pushed him to the ground and kicked him repeatedly to the body.
They then pulled his wallet – containing £80 and a bank card – from his pocket and ran off.
Stewart was identified by police on CCTV.
The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to one charge of acting along with others to assault and rob the man of his wallet, bank card and money.
Gang kicked man while he was down
Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told the court that the male victim had been socialising in Aberdeen and was making his way along Chapel Street when he was approached by a woman.
She said: “The woman initially struck up a conversation with him but thereafter attempted to go through his pockets.
“The complainer pushed her off and started to run away.
“The accused and a number of others came from the side of a building and pushed the complainer to the ground.
“He was variously kicked and struck on his legs, the side of his body and on his head.
“The complainer raised his hands trying to cover his face. At which point the accused pulled out his wallet from his left jacket pocket and the group ran towards Rose Street.”
The man, who went home and called the police, was robbed of £80, his Santander bank card and his wallet.
Police identified Stewart from CCTV in the area and arrested him four days later.
Accused has long history of offending
Defence agent Alex Burn told the court that Stewart had struggled with heroin addiction but had “not under the influence” at the time of the assault.
He added: “He has a long history of offending and addiction has been an issue in the past but he knows his behaviour on this day was wholly unacceptable.”
Sheriff Graham Buchanan told the 33-year old: “This is an extremely serious offence.
“I am in no doubt that this is a case where a custodial sentence is the only acceptable disposal.”
He sentenced Stewart, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, to 32 months in prison backdated to August 26, 2021.
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