A TEENAGE girl fought back to rescue her laptop computer after a gang of masked and armed men smashed their way into the secluded home of an Edinburgh businessman, a court heard yesterday.
The girl managed to prise the machine from one of the raiders, and hit him over the head with it. Others in the gang were struck with a baseball bat by the house-owner as he forced them to retreat.
One of the gang was caught because his blood wa
s found in the house and scientists established a DNA match.
Paul Duffy, 35, of Castlemilk, Glasgow, admitted taking part in the would-be robbery at Mohammed Razaq's detached bungalow in Lasswade Road, Edinburgh, on 28 February. He will be sentenced next month.
The High Court in Edinburgh was told that Mr Razaq, 38, a dealer in high-performance cars, lived with his son, 17, but other youngsters were in the house that night because there had been a birthday celebration.
The property is set back from the roadway and surrounded by a 10ft-high hedge. Its security includes night-vision cameras, CCTV and alarms linked to the police. Leanne Cross, the advocate-depute, said Mr Razaq had been watching television in his bedroom when he noticed that the security lighting had been activated.
He saw four men, wearing balaclavas and dark clothing, running across the garden to a conservatory. They had a variety of weapons, including an axe, a large knife, a bat and a bar. They smashed windows in the conservatory and entered.
"Mr Razaq attempted to hold the living room door closed to block their access to the rest of the property, but one of the males smashed its glass panels with an axe. The glass showered Mr Razaq, causing him to back away," said Miss Cross. Mr Razaq fell over and the man with the axe fell on top of him.
One of the gang grabbed the girl, 15, by the hair and pushed her into a door and punched her. A man picked up the laptop and the girl tried to retrieve it.
"She was upset at the prospect of this being taken, and a struggle broke out between them. She eventually retrieved the laptop, which she then used to hit the male over the head," said Miss Cross.
Mr Razaq had taken hold of a baseball bat, which he kept in the house, and struck two of the gang. They fled, as they had come in, through the conservatory.
Mr Razaq's son had noted the registration number of a silver BMW used in the getaway, and scientists found drops of blood on the conservatory floor. DNA from the blood matched Duffy's profile. He had a long list of previous convictions, which included assault and robbery. The car was traced to Kirkcaldy, Fife, and his blood was also found in the vehicle.
Miss Cross said that it had been a terrifying ordeal for those in the house but, fortunately, only minor injuries – bruising and soreness – had been suffered by Mr Razaq and the girl. She also experienced mental trauma, and found it difficult to sleep and had nightmares. Mr Razaq has decided to move house.
The full article contains 539 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
