Thug jailed over machete attack outside Motherwell tower block

A thug who attacked a Motherwell man with a bottle and a machete outside his home has been jailed for 32 months. Dean Markson , 27, admitted assaulting the victim to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement at Merryton Tower on May 27 last year. Hamilton Sheriff Court heard the victim was walking home from the shops about 3.25pm when he was attacked.

Markson ran towards him and struck him on the head with an Eldorado wine bottle, knocking him to the ground.

He continued to inflict blows until the bottle slipped out of his hand and smashed. Another male then struck the victim repeatedly on the head and back with a machete, reports Lanarkshire Live . The pair left the scene in a car but police officers identified Markson from CCTV images.

His DNA was on the broken bottle. The victim's partner returned home to find him injured. Worried about the amount of blood he had lost, she called an ambulance.

He had a number of cuts, the most serious of which was a 5cm wound to his back that was closed with stitches. Markson has previous convictions for assault but defence lawyer Matthew McGovern said there was nothing on his record since 2020 and he had been attempting to "change his lifestyle". He has had addiction issues in the past that led to serious health problems and put his involvement in this assault down to "poor decision-making".

Sheriff John Hamilton KC said it appeared from a criminal justice social work report that Markson had become involved in a "misguided revenge attack" on the victim. The sheriff told him: ”

It seems you felt there was some justification for it. "

There seems to have been some planning as you waited for him to walk past as he came back from the shops. "

He suffered a number of significant wounds and it's fortunate his injuries were not more serious given he was struck by a bottle and a machete. "

You do that in broad daylight and you get the jail." The 32-month sentence was backdated as Markson has been in custody since May 29. An arrest warrant was issued for a second man facing the charge who failed to attend court.