Taxi rank attack teen sentenced for Perth offence after 3 years

A violent Scone teenager who carried out an unprovoked attack at a Perth city centre taxi rank has been sentenced exactly three years later.

Lewis Beveridge was only 16 when he injured another male during the Saturday night assault at the rank between Mill Street and Murray Street.

At a previous hearing, fiscal depute Andrew Harding told the court that at 11pm, several members of the public were queuing at the taxi rank.

Witnesses later said the assault victim was “minding his own business” in the queue.

Beveridge appeared and became aggressive, pulling the male to the ground before punching and kicking him and hitting him with a bottle.

His attack stopped when a person in the group he had arrived with shouted “that’s Lewis Beveridge.”

The victim was left nursing cuts and bruises.

Now aged 19, bricklayer Beveridge, of Goshen Road in Scone, pled guilty to the October 9 2021 assault.

He had been released from court on bail just two months before the attack.

It was initially charged as being to the danger of the victim’s life but this aggravation was deleted from Beveridge’s plea.

‘Completely different person’

Beveridge was finally sentenced three years to the day after the attack.

Solicitor Billy Somerville said: “At the time, Mr Beveridge was aged 16.

“I think the person who appears today is a completely different person.

“He was drinking to excess, he was reckless and he didn’t care about consequences.

“He’s since served a custodial sentence of 16 months.

“He felt that sentence was needed and caused him to re-evaluate his life.

“He’s working full time. He’s currently on medication so he can’t take alcohol.”

Sentencing

Beveridge was ordered by Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC to complete 225 hours of unpaid work within in a year .

Also placing him under supervision for 18 months, she said: “This was an unprovoked attack on an unsuspecting member of the public.”

She said it was lucky the injuries were not more serious.

“You demonstrated insight into the seriousness of your offending behaviour and recognise your alcohol and cocaine use was a problem at that time,” she added.

Later violence

The court heard Beveridge has no convictions which pre-date the taxi rank attack but has latterly appeared in the dock to plead guilty to violent offences.

Last year, he admitted stamping on a man’s head and neck until he passed out during a botched robbery, for which he spent time in custody on remand.

The teen set upon his victim on a footpath off Perth’s Edinburgh Road and demanded: “Empty your pockets and give me everything you’ve got.”

Earlier in 2023, Beveridge headbutted a man at Perth’s Sandeman bar in squabble over pool rules.

At the same hearing, he admitted throwing punches at a different victim on Perth’s County Place, near its junction with South Methven Street.

For both offences, he was placed under supervision and a drug treatment and testing order.

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