Men jailed for machete murder bid after pub argument

Sammy Maxwell, 33, and Malcolm Cumlin, 31, brutally set upon Dylan Haldane in Glasgow in 2019.

Men jailed for machete murder bid after pub argument Getty Images

Two men guilty of a suspected gangland murder bid have each been sentenced to nine years in jail.

Sammy Maxwell, 33, and Malcolm Cumlin, 31, brutally set upon Dylan Haldane in Glasgow’s Maryhill Road on August 8, 2019.

The 33-year-old suffered skull and knee fractures after being hacked with a machete.

Mr Haldane gave evidence during a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, but insisted his attackers had actually come to his aid.

On Wednesday, Maxwell and Cumlin returned to the dock having earlier been found guilty of attempted murder.

Maxwell – who already had a history of violence – is a known associate of underworld killer Robert ‘Birdman’ O’Hara.

Cumlin has also tried to kill another man, slashed an innocent teenage girl and also left a boy scarred for life.

In connection with this latest attack, Lady Haldane told the duo: “You have been convicted of an attempted murder in a busy street in broad daylight in front of witnesses.

“You, Maxwell, used a sharp bladed implement – such as machete or large kitchen knife – to attack Dylan Haldane.

“He received life-threatening injuries as you, Cumlin, watched on.”

Maxwell’s sentence was backdated to last year and Cumlin’s to 2019 when they were each first remanded. 

Jurors heard how Mr Haldane had earlier been clocked arguing with Maxwell and Cumlin in The Rams Head pub in Maryhill.

Cumlin then appeared to reject a handshake from the victim.

Mr Haldane left the bar around 7.15pm before being tailed by the duo.

Describing the attack, he recalled standing in a tenement close waiting for a takeaway meal when he heard a “buzzing”.

He said he turned round and spotted a man, who he named in court.

Mr Haldane told prosecutor Euan Cameron: “He was someone who, for a number of years, I had a run in with and have had an ongoing feud.

“I felt a strike to the head and I was knocked out. I do not know how long.

“When I came back round, Malcolm and Sammy were saying I was ‘okay’ and that I had been through worse.”

Mr Haldane claimed that he was “friends” with Maxwell and Cumlin, adding they were at the scene to “comfort” him.

A passing cyclist that night told the trial how he had spotted a man striking another person on the ground “with what looked like a machete”.

An accomplice was standing beside him.

The witness said: “When I got to the man, he had a number of wounds on the head.

“He was hit on the arms, the legs and knee – there was blood on various places and on the ground.”

He stated that one of the men put the weapon in a bag before the pair fled the scene.

Jurors heard Mr Haldane spent more than a week in hospital, but did not say who was responsible.

He told the court: “Whatever they were giving me, I was not able to respond to speak.”

After being able to leave hospital, Mr Haldane claimed he “did not leave the house or anything”.

He suffered six wounds to his head and body, resulting in two skulls fractures and internal bleeding.

He was struck through to the bone on his arm and his kneecap was also fractured with tendons severed.

Both Maxwell and Cumlin continue to deny being involved.

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