A court heard a convicted killer was “jovial” with police officers just hours after he committed a “motiveless” murder on a Paisley dad in his own home. Andrew McLeod was locked up for a minimum of 20 years in January after being found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of the murder of John Dalziel in May 2021.
Yesterday, Paisley Sheriff Court heard how McLeod, 58, was at Mill Street police station as a witness only hours after the murder where he was “jovial” with cops before he turned abusive towards them.
Procurator fiscal depute Carly McLeod explained: “Around 2am on May 7, the accused was with police officers in the police station as he was a witness in an earlier incident. He was quite jovial throughout the evening with officers. It was at this time he became irate and began to shout and swear at police officers.
“He made threats to officers to cause them harm and stated he knew where they lived and that if he saw them out without uniform, he would smash them. He continued his threats and stated to one officer, ‘you’re a f***ing p**f’ and then said to two officers, ‘ya m***o b*****ds’.
“McLeod was cautioned and arrested when he turned his head towards PC Deacon and gathered a mouthful of spital and moved his head in an attempt to spit. Officers were able to take control of the accused’s head and stopped him.
"At 2.15am he was cautioned and charged, replying, ‘I didn’t try to spit on you’. He was then taken to Cathcart police station to be processed.”
Hours prior to being in Mill Street police station, McLeod battered John Dalziel and slashed his throat with a broken plate at the house in Whitesbridge Avenue on May 6, 2021 – said to be the day of his birthday.
A fire was also started in the home of the 47-year-old, who was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow but died a short time later. McLeod had denied the accusation at the trial.
However, it emerged after the verdict that he already had a conviction for culpable homicide in 2005. He was jailed for nine years then for killing Scott McMinn in Paisley before dumping his body in a wheelie bin at a former gas works pit.
McLeod also had other high court convictions. Defence agent Kirsty McGeehan explained McLeod is serving a life sentence with his earliest liberation date in 2043.
Ms McGeehan added: “These offences occurred on the same day as the murder. These charges initially featured on the indictment but then were deserted and appeared on summary level. Had these charges stayed on the indictment then there wouldn’t have been an extension on his sentence.”
Sheriff Gillian Craig said: “Your behaviour towards police officers was disgusting. Given your current status, I will admonish you on this matter.”
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