A man has been jailed after admitting speeding his car towards a group of teens and injuring another pedestrian.
Jay Ritchie, 35, was locked up for 21 months at Peterhead’s Sheriff Court for causing injury by dangerous driving.
The incident unfolded after the youngsters, who were aged 15 and 16, taunted Ritchie after they saw he had been the victim of an attack.
That assault was connected to the case of missing man Shaun Ritchie – and the court was told Jay Ritchie is “blamed” for the events leading up to the 20-year-old’s disappearance exactly nine years ago today.
Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllister told the court how a witness saw Ritchie whilst she was out walking her dog beside the playpark on Topping Gardens, near Hamilton Road in Fraserburgh, on May 2, 2021 at around 5.45pm.
Ritchie, of Charlotte Street, Fraserburgh, was with two other people and they “appeared to be under the influence” the court heard.
They had blood on their faces
As she got closer, the woman, who knew Ritchie, said she could see all three had blood on their faces and it looked like they had been fighting.
Mr McAllister said the woman had gone to see if Ritchie was alright after the two other men left and she said he had a cut on his left eye and was bleeding from his ear.
“She and [Ritchie] walked past the park where the children were playing,” Mr McAllister went on.
“They started winding [Ritchie] up saying ‘have you been battered?’ and joking that they could batter him too.”
The taunting continued and the woman attempted to remove Ritchie from the situation.
After taunting, he snapped
However, Ritchie snapped and went back to confront the youths and retorted: “Come on then.”
The group of teens began laughing, the court heard, and Ritchie shouted that he would “run them over” before adding: “You’re a dick, you’re a dick”, and, to the third, “You’re a dick too”.
Ritchie then got into his car and drove “at speed” through the playpark towards the group.
By now, Mr McAllister told the court, other people had started to come out onto the street, one being Maksims Mavro.
Now back on Topping Gardens, Ritchie drove his car “back and forth” up the street, hitting Mr Mavro, who was standing in the middle trying to stop him.
Ritchie also collided with a parked car and a caravan in his BMW X5 before driving off, again “at speed”, the court was told.
Mr Mavro was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he was treated for two broken wrists.
Ritchie was later arrested and told officers “If someone gets in my way, I will run them down” and said he had “done nothing wrong”.
Ritchie’s defence agent Sam Milligan told the court the earlier assault had been the trigger for his outburst.
He said: “Mr Ritchie was being blamed for the involvement in the disappearance of a young man.
“One of the men was a family member of that man and he apparently blames Mr Ritchie, who had been his close friend, for those events leading to his disappearance.”
Shaun disappeared on Halloween night in 2014 after he travelled in a van to a remote farmhouse a few miles from Fraserburgh with seven other people.
Despite a major police investigation, he has never been seen again.
A ‘sustained and deliberate’ attack
Mr Milligan said his client had no recollection of the events, but “deeply regretted” them, adding: “He was challenged and harangued by the group of individuals.”
On passing sentence, Sheriff Craig Findlater said it had been a “sustained and deliberate” attack on the group and the pedestrian.
He said: “Mr Mavro had broken bones and still you did not stop thereafter.
“You drove back and forth and were prepared to run down people who got in your way.
“You had been assaulted earlier and were being taunted, but you could have dealt with it without driving at a pedestrian or other road users.”
He sentenced Ritchie to 21 months in prison and banned him from driving for 64 months and two weeks, after which he will have to pass the extended driving test.
Two other charges of resisting arrest and threatening behaviour were dropped.
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