Trio brutally attacked severely disabled man in Bellshill and stole his dog before selling pet for £150

A woman and two men brutally ambushed a severely disabled man and stole his dog before selling the pet for £150.

Sarah Blakeway, 34, Jamie Thomson, 44, and Gary Thomson, 36, pounced on the man during an early morning raid of his home in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on June 26 2022.

Blakeway repeatedly punched the man who was sat on his wheelchair.

Gary Thomson went on to slash the victim, who also has an eye condition, with scissors and caused him to fall to the ground.

Jamie Thomson then struck the man with a glass bottle.

The stricken victim crawled 100 yards for help from a neighbour which left a blood trail while the trio ransacked his property.

They made off with the victim’s BMW 535 car and his American bulldog named Kira.

The seven-month-old pet was sold with visible injuries the next day to someone Blakeway knew for £150.

Blakeway, Jamie Thomson and Gary Thomson were due to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

However, Blakeway and Jamie Thomson admitted assaulting the man to his injury.

Gary Thomson meantime pled guilty to the assault to the man’s severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment.

All three further admitted a separate charge of stealing Kira and the car.

Gary Thomson was jailed for 32 months in 2020 after committing a car jacking in which a 15-year-old girl was dragged from the vehicle.

Blakeway – who was also involved – was tagged and given unpaid work.

The court heard that the victim was disabled from an industrial incident 22 years ago and requires a wheelchair.

He also has a medical condition in his left eye.

Kira was purchased in December 2021 for £800 and was microchipped.

The man was woken up at 3am by Blakeway who was with Jamie and Gary Thomson.

The trio entered the property when Blakeway stated to the man: “F***ing b******” and demanded his car keys.

An argument took place about Kira which turned violent when Blakeway repeatedly punched the man to his head and body.

The victim attempted to cover himself to protect him from the blows and ended up bruised.

Prosecutor Vish Kathuria said: “Gary Thomson repeatedly slashed [the victim] to the head, face, neck arm had and body with the scissors.

“Gary Thomson caused his wheelchair to topple over which caused [the victim] to fall to the floor.”

Gary Thomson stated: “You stole my blood” which made no sense to the man.

Mr Kathuria went on: “Jamie Thomson swung a glass wine bottle at him which struck the top of his head which caused a cut. The bottle did not break.”

The hearing was told the victim crawled 100 yards to a neighbour’s property leaving a blood trail behind him.

CCTV – which lasted over nine minutes – was played to the court in which the man could be hearing shouting: “Help, someone please help me.”

The neighbour noted that the man was badly injured and covered in blood.

The victim told him: “They are trying to kill me.”

The trio were spotted leaving the man’s home with Kira in the stolen BMW.

The victim was taken to hospital where he was treated for a series of injuries to his head and body.

This included wounds to his face, an injury to the nerve of his index finger and a fracture to his mid back.

The cuts were cleaned and stitched which will leave permanent scarring. He was also given an operation for the nerve damage.

Mr Kathuria stated that the man now finds it difficult to trust people and experiences flashbacks.

Officers received a call later that morning that the BMW had crashed into a fence in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, but the vehicle was not recovered.

A woman – who knew Blakeway – purchased Kira for £150 the next day in a rushed sale at a petrol station in Whitburn, West Lothian.

It was noted that Kira had injuries and was held with a housecoat cord.

The woman bought the dog from Blakeway and Jamie Thomson as she felt something “was not right” and that she did not want to leave Kira with them.

She later found out about the raid and contacted the man, who purchased the dog back for £150.

The trio were traced and arrested the following day.

George Gebbie, defending Jamie Thomson, said: “This incident took place during a drug addiction – he is now clean of drugs.”

Rhonda Anderson, defending Gary Thomson stated: “He acknowledges his actions of the serious assault on a vulnerable man are atrocious and despicable – he must face the consequences for that.

“It is quite clear he suffered physical injuries as well as permanent scarring but the psychological effects will be long lasting. Mr Thomson has expressed genuine shame and remorse for his actions.”

Sentence was deferred pending background reports by Judge Lord Matthews who continued the trio’s remand in custody meantime.