A shopkeeper was pinned to a chair and beaten in a terrifying Paisley robbery.
Christopher Holland and another man struck in broad daylight at the Best-one store after spotting Zeeshan Saeed behind the counter.
The town's sheriff court heard that 34-year-old Holland admitted holding the frightened man on the chair in a headlock, then punching him repeatedly on the face, the Paisley Daily Express reports.
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The vicious attack was condemned as "cowardly" by Sheriff Bruce Erroch, who pointed out that he wasn't working alone and there was an element of planning involved.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV and the court was told that Mr Saeed had opened the off-sales newsagent shop at 9.30am on Boxing Day.
An hour later Holland entered the shop wearing a black face mask and green jacket with the hood up.
Prosecutor David Gallagher explained: "The accused entered the till area through an unlocked door and punched Saeed to the face twice with his right hand while holding Saeed on the jacket with his left hand and then pinned him to the chair while holding him in a headlock.
"The other male then entered the store and entered behind the till area while Holland tried to open the till using the function on the till computer.
"Holland, as observed on CCTV, can be seen to have a tattoo on his right hand and another on his right forearm. Saeed was then told to open the till repeatedly. Holland then punched Saeed again and the accused and the other male held Saeed down on the chair.
"The other male then grabbed a polo packet from the shelving unit and scanned the barcode attempting to open the till drawer however this was unsuccessful."
The court heard Mr Saeed managed to press the panic button and he told Holland that police had been alerted.
Mr Gallagher added: "While both men were pinning Saeed down, the other male opened the drawer underneath the till and removed four cartons of Player Superkings cigarettes with a total value of £50. Both males made off and Saeed awaited for police arrival."
Police received information that the man responsible was the brother of someone who had robbed the shop on a previous occasion in October 2019 and on December 28.
Holland was traced at a property in Brown Street. Mr Gallagher added: "Holland attended at the door and officers immediately identified the jacket worn by Holland as the same worn by the suspect in the CCTV.
"Holland was placed under arrest and taken to Greenock police station. While in a holding cell, Holland freely stated, 'I know I'm bang to rights. It was 100 per cent not Aaron that was with me, I can tell you that. You won't know the guy, he's not from here, he's from London.'
"Holland also stated, 'You know it was f*****g me, you're not stupid, I'm wearing the f*****g jacket and I have the joggers on under my jeans, I'm bang to rights.' The accused was interviewed, replied 'no comment' to caution and charge and was held in custody to appear in this court."
Defence agent Tony Bolland explained how Holland was "introduced to violence at a young age in the family setting."
"At the age of 16, after serving time with the cadets, he joined the army and wished to pursue a career there. However, he was medically discharged at 19 and he felt at a loss and in solace, he turned to drugs and that lies at the root of this man's offending.
"At this time, he was spending any money he got on drugs, and heroin in particular and this is what's caused him to act in this way. He has asked me to express his remorse and his sincere apologies.
"He understands the seriousness here and the extent of his conduct."
Sheriff Bruce Erroch KC jailed Holland for 48 months, reduced to 32 months backdated to his date of remand on December 29. In addition, Sheriff Erroch KC made Holland subject to a 12-month supervised release order upon his release.
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