Arsonist who carried out 'hits' for drug dealer in Scottish Borders jailed for 11 years

A man has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for carrying out a crime spree in less than a week in the Scottish Borders.

Shane Donnelly admitted that he carried out “hits” for a drug dealer, which included attacking strangers, threatening behaviour and fire-raising, in St Boswells, Galashiels, Hawick and Selkirk in October and November.

The court heard that he already had convictions in Scotland and England for crimes of violence, disorder and arson and was jailed for 15 months earlier this year.

Lady Ross told him at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday: “You became involved in carrying out ‘hits’ for a drug dealer. Your behaviour was deliberate and vicious.

“You are no stranger to violence. You have a very bad record of previous convictions.”

Assaults and flat fire

He first carried out a “shameful and brutal” attack on a stranger at a bus stop in the village of St Boswells on October 4 last year, fracturing his jaw.

Advocate depute Kirsten Cockburn said the victim was working as a waiter before he went to a friend’s party and then went to a bus stop to meet his sister, when Donnelly and another man got out of a black vehicle.

The other man asked: “Are you selling?” The victim said he was not selling anything, and Donnelly responded: “Are you sure you are not selling anything?”

The victim said he was waiting for his sister, and Donnelly punched him on the head, before the other male told him: “Mate, if I was you, I’d run.”

He ran around a corner and contacted his sister and the police.

When she met her brother, he was in a lot of pain and bleeding from his mouth. He was found to have displaced fractures to his jaw and underwent surgery.

Donnelly then went to a takeaway restaurant in Galashiels on the same night and began shouting at the owner.

He said: “If anyone contacted the police, stop. They won’t find out where I am. I will come back and ruin your shop and ruin lives. I have just dealt with one person, and I’ll deal with you next.”

He then went to Indigo nightclub in Galashiels, accompanied by another male, and threatened to stab the door staff.

He said: “Are we going to stab these f****ers or not.” He also said: “What are you wanting to do, are we stabbing them or not?”

On October 8, in the early hours of the morning, an HGV driver was walking to his parked vehicle in Hawick when he noticed a van drive past him.

Donnelly emerged from the van with an accomplice, wearing dark clothing and a hood, his face covered. As the driver was setting off in his lorry, he saw flames coming from a block of flats.

The advocate depute said: “He saw the same two males he had seen earlier appearing a little panic-stricken, with a line of fire going in multiple directions from the block of flats.”

Firefighters attended, and it was discovered that the fire had been started by pouring accelerant through the windows. Occupants required to be evacuated from five flats.

Donnelly struck again on October 10 when he turned up at a house in Galashiels with others.

One of the occupants answered a knock on the door to be confronted by strangers and was punched in the face.

He was dragged through to the living room, placed in a choke hold and forced to his knees. A piano stool was smashed across his back, and he was struck on the arms and head with a Stanley knife.

The other occupant was also struck with a knife and kicked down stairs. The intruders left after robbing the victims of a phone, bank cards and a pair of trainers.

On November 6, Donnelly turned up at the home of a couple in Selkirk and claimed their son was “due a lot of money to two dealers in Ireland”.

The prosecutor said: “He went on to state that they were coming over at the weekend to ‘collect’ the outstanding debt of £2,000. The accused then showed a picture of a male who had been ‘sliced up’ for not paying a debt.”

She said Donnelly told them he would return to see if the debt had been paid. Police were contacted to report him.

Donnelly admitted assaulting one man to his severe injury and impairment in St Boswells on October 4, and assaulting two other men and robbing them in Galashiels six days later.

He also admitted wilfully setting fire to windows and a door at flats in Hawick on October 8 while acting along with another.

He further admitted behaving in a threatening way at a takeaway and nightclub in Galashiels on October 4 and at a house in Selkirk on November 6.

Donnelly also pleaded guilty to driving a van while disqualified on October 7 last year after he was seen at a petrol station in Mart Street, Hawick.

Defence counsel Victoria Dow said: “He had, in the lead up to the offences, been suffering a significant deterioration in his mental health.”

The 27-year-old admitted committing six of the offences he pleaded guilty to, with the final crime occurring a month later.

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday, Donnelly was sentenced to 11 years in jail.

Lady Ross ordered that Donnelly should be under supervision in the community for a further four years, when he will be on licence and can be returned to prison if he breaches the conditions.

He was also banned from driving for three years.