Edinburgh Crime: Two brothers jailed for attempted murder after carrying out 'brutal' attack in Tollcross

Two brothers who maimed a man in a vicious murder bid during a street attack were jailed for more than 12 years today.
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Paul O'Doherty, 30, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and his younger sibling Jake O'Doherty, 27, sentenced to four years and 152 days in custody following the attempted murder of Umair Khan in the Tollcross area of Edinburgh.

The pair were armed with weapons during the assault on Mr Khan who was punched on the head with a knuckle duster and repeatedly stabbed in the back.

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A judge told them at the High Court in Edinburgh that they had carried out a "brutal" attack on their victim on September 13 in 2020.

Lord Harrower pointed out that one of three stab wounds to Mr Khan was of such violence it left the blade of the knife embedded in him.

The judge said: "It took six hours of surgery to remove the blade." The victim was transferred to a hospital spinal unit.

Lord Harrower said that Mr Khan, now 35, still cannot stand or walk without the aid of crutches.

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The two brothers were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday.The two brothers were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday.
The two brothers were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday.

Mr O'Doherty, of Wallsend, Tyneside, and his younger brother had earlier denied the murder bid on Mr Khan in a lane running between Glen Street and Panmure Place, but were found guilty of the offence by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow.

They were convicted of assaulting him to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and impairment and to the danger of his life and attempting to murder him.

Defence solicitor advocate Ewen Roy, for the older brother, said: "There is nothing that I can say to mitigate the offence itself as he continues to deny his involvement."

He said: "He has been convicted of a gratuitous act of violence that was both shocking and completely out of character for him."

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Mr Roy told the court that following his client's position he could not advance any remorse or victim empathy on his part.

He said the father of three had no criminal record and no outstanding cases against him.

He said that the older brother had a good work record and was assessed as posing a low risk of further offending, Mr Roy said: "He is not involved in serious, organised crime."

Defence counsel Kenneth Cloggie, for the younger brother, said that he maintained the position that was advanced at trial when he denied the offence.

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Lord Harrower told the younger brother that in setting his sentence that he took into account that he spent 289 days on remand before the trial.

Jake O'Doherty was armed with the knuckle duster during the attack on Mr Khan and the court heard that he has a previous conviction for possession for possessing a similar weapon.

Following their conviction, Detective Sergeant Keith Taylor, from Police Scotland, said: “Both O’Dochertys subjected this man to a violent attack which has had lasting impact on the life of the victim.

“They will now face the consequences of their brutal behaviour following this guilty verdict.

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“While it cannot change what happened, this will hopefully provide some closure for the victim.”

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