Gunman jailed for 12 years over double murder bid in Glenboig

McAuley fired shots in Marnoch Drive in Glenboig

A gunman who fired shots at two men in broad daylight on a North Lanarkshire street has been jailed for 12 years.

James McAulay targeted John Gray and Marc McCarthy in Glenboig on 21 November 2020.

The shooting followed earlier incidents where a gun was brandished at a flat in Stirling and a man was attacked in Dunfermline.

The High Court in Glasgow heard the crimes were said to have been as a result of "some sort of disagreement".

Former scaffolding boss McAulay, 31, was convicted of two attempted murder charges.

He was also found guilty of assault, damaging property and threatening behaviour.

The charges spanned between September 2019 and November 2020.

'Good fortune'

Lord Scott told McAulay: "The course of criminal conduct involved crimes of varying degrees of seriousness.

"They culminated in the attempted murders by discharging a shotgun at two individuals in the afternoon on a public street.

"There may have been little or no injury, but it is no more than good fortune that neither man was killed."

McAulay had been subject to three bail orders at the time of the murder bids, including one from the High Court made just weeks earlier.

He will be supervised for a further four years on his release.

Lord Scott said he had decided against calling for a risk assessment, which could have lead to McAulay being hit with an Order for Lifelong Restriction.

Masked attacker

Jurors earlier heard how Mr Gray and Mr McCarthy had a shotgun fired at them by a masked attacker in Marnoch Drive, Glenboig.

McAulay struck having threatened Mark Purvis at a house in Dunfermline in September 2019.

Two months later, he was said to be with accomplices as they stormed a flat in Stirling, brandished a shotgun at those inside and smashed windows.

In January 2020, Mr Purvis was then subjected to a "sustained" assault at the same property in Dunfermline leaving him injured.

Jonathan Crowe, defending, said: "He maintains his position of no acceptance or responsibility."