Dylan Russell admitted to assaulting a man on a train departing from the city center, leaving him with a broken ankle.
The victim boarded at Johnstone station and found a seat on the full train. He argued with a different passenger at one point, though that passenger isn’t related to the case. Feeling threatened, the victim stood up and confronted that passenger.
Then, Russell and two more men approached and put their hands on the victim’s shoulders. The two men pushed each other. Russell was punched during that pushing. Another attacker jumped on the victim’s back and grabbed him around the throat tightly. Russell punched the victim twice as they struggled.
One attacker put the victim in a headlock and tried pulling him down to the floor. While he did that, Russell kneed the victim and struck his head and face many times. All three then fell toward the train door, continuing to grapple. One attacker punched the victim’s face twice. Russell also grabbed the victim around the neck tightly. Afterwards, they broke apart briefly, and one attacker danced in front of the victim.
The victim tried moving away in the train aisle. Russell then punched him in the head. The victim put his hands up, palms out, but the unknown attacker lunged again. He struck the victim, backing him into a corner. Another person tried to separate the group, but Russell punched the victim in the face yet again.
Someone then pushed Russell away from the victim. All the men were held apart for a moment, before more blows followed. This included knees to the man’s face and kicks to the victim’s head. He was punched in the face four more times until he lay still on the train floor. The attackers shouted loudly in his face at that time.
They gathered their belongings and moved away through the train together. Other passengers helped the injured man and told the ticket inspector at Kilwinning station. Staff saw blood all over his face and clothes. The victim also held his leg tightly then. Blood was on the train floor, walls, and doors.
An ambulance took the victim to a hospital. He had broken his right ankle’s fibula and badly torn a ligament in that ankle. Doctors used a metal plate and twenty-two staples. Recovery was estimated at twelve weeks long. He also had a bump on his head. Both eyes were black, and one was swollen shut.
The victim received stitches under one eye, as well as on his nose and chin. His jaw, ribs, back and neck were sore also. Russell and his two male accomplices left the train and went towards the taxi rank, it was reported.
Police arrested Russell later on for this attack. He turned himself in after a police appeal on social media. The sheriff granted Russell bail in court and called for reports before sentencing happens. The sentencing is set to happen next month.