A vicious thug carried out a savage machete attack in a murder bid on a crime kingpin’s brother at a supermarket hours after he received a police visit warning him of threats to his safety.
George Baigrie sliced into the arm of Dale Richardson, the brother of kingpin Mark Richardson, 37, with the fearsome weapon and chased him in aisles of the Tesco store at Gracemount Drive, in Edinburgh, before the victim managed to escape. Shoppers and staff witnessed the horrifying attack and calls were made to emergency services as Baigrie, 42, who was wearing a camouflage snood, left to run to a waiting getaway car.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Richardson, 35, arrived at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with a serious wound to his left wrist caused by a machete and was transferred by emergency ambulance to St John’s Hospital, in Livingston, where he underwent a 10 hour operation to repair injuries. The wound had cut to the bone and caused serious damage to multiple tendons and completely severed a number of nerves and sliced through the ulnar artery.
A jury was told that the severing of the artery could have caused Richardson to bleed to death without medical treatment.
Baigrie and his accomplice Kevin Richardson, 24, had denied attempting to murder Richardson at the store on November 11 in 2021 by pursuing him, repeatedly attempting to strike him on the body with a machete and striking him on the body with a machete to his severe injury, permanent impairment and disfigurement and to the danger of his life.
Baigrie, who has previously served a 12 year sentence for a murder bid imposed on him in 2003, was convicted of the full attempted murder charge. His co-accused first offender Richardson, from Edinburgh, who was the getaway driver, was convicted of the serious, life endangering assault but under deletion of the allegation of attempted murder.
Baigrie was also convicted of the unlawful possession of a machete on November 11 in 2021. The court heard, in agreed evidence, that earlier on the day of the machete attack police visited Baigrie’s home at Lodeneia Park, Dalkeith, in Midlothian, to tell him they were aware of “credible threats to his personal safety”.
Baigrie had wanted to know where the threats were coming from and advocate depute Leanne Cross said that was because he wanted to take matters into his own hands. Baigrie replied: “No, so I knew who to avoid.” The prosecutor asked him if he knew Dale Richardson and he said: “Know of him.” She asked if he knew his brother Mark Richardson and again he answered: “Know of him.”
Baigrie, who lodged special defences of alibi that he was at home at the time of the attack and incrimination of another man for the crime, said: “I didn’t know where the threat was coming from.”
Dale Richardson had made a regular trip to pick up a child from football before the attack on him took place at the supermarket. Jurors were shown CCTV footage compiled by police of a car owned by Kevin Richardson driving out to Dalkeith before returning to Edinburgh where it was seen following the victim’s car and parking up before the launch of the machete assault. DNA from Kevin Richardson was on the steering wheel when the car was recovered and subjected to forensic examination and Baigrie’s DNA was found on a rear door of the vehicle.
When police searched Baigrie’s home they found two machetes and sheaths for other machetes of different sizes and shapes. They also recovered a pair of white adidas trainers with blood from Dale Richardson on them. Baigrie accepted that the trainers were his but claimed they had been worn by another man who committed the attack.
He accepted he had knives and machetes at his home but claimed that was because of his interest in “country sports”. He would hunt for rabbits, hares and deer and gutted and skinned animals and prepared meat. After the jury convicted the pair the trial judge, Lord Young, rejected a motion to continue bail for Kevin Richardson ahead of sentencing.
He told Baigrie and Richardson that they were found guilty of a serious crime and would both be remanded in custody ahead of sentencing in February while background reports are prepared on them.
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