Victim left brain damaged after attack
Published 4 Jun 2012 09:30
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A MAN was battered and dumped in a lift after a brutal assault by a woman and her teenage nephew.
James Lang, 49, was knocked unconscious and suffered bleeding on the brain following the incident at a flat in Clydebank last October.
Leeann Johnston, 31, from Haldane, and Dylan Ferguson, 17, from Clydebank, admitted being involved in the attack when they appeared at the High Court in Glasgow last week.
It emerged Ferguson was awaiting sentence for another assault at the time.
The accused were with the victim Mr Lang at a flat in West Court, Clydebank, on October 16.
Paul Kearney, prosecuting, said Mr Lang made an "inappropriate remark" to Johnston, which sparked the attack.
Johnston, of Cook Road, punched the 49 year-old before her nephew joined in and knocked him out cold.
Ferguson, of West Court, Clydebank, then dragged the blood-soaked victim out of the property and into a lift.
He continued hitting Mr Lang and eventually left him lying injured in the elevator.
Emergency service staff attending a separate call at the flats discovered Mr Lang before he was rushed to hospital.
Police later spoke to Johnston and she admitted being involved, however Ferguson denied his part in the attack.
The court heard Mr Lang was found to have bleeding on the brain and a collapsed lung.
He was eventually able weeks later to speak and breath on his own.
Mr Lang was transferred to a brain rehabilitation centre, but it is not known if he will make a full recovery.
Johnston and Ferguson had originally faced an allegation of attempted murder.
Ferguson instead pled guilty to attacking Mr Lang to the danger of his life while his aunt admitted to assault.
The court heard Ferguson had also been on bail at the time for a knife possession charge.
Judge Lord Brailsford deferred sentencing until June 28 at the High Court in Edinburgh.
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