James Demarco had been taken to Perth Royal Infirmary for an X-ray appointment on September 25, 2023. The 34-year-old was handcuffed to a female GEOAmey employee when he caused her to fall halfway down a flight of stairs.

He then put his knee on her chest and neck, pinning her to the ground and causing her head to strike the floor. Demarco demanded the handcuffs be removed and shouted that he would slit the woman’s throat.

The second GEOAmey officer immediately uncuffed Demarco before tackling him and putting him in a headlock in a bid to restrain him. Demarco bit the man on his right forearm, elbowed the officer on the back of his head and punched him several times on his head and face.

The prisoner then escaped out of the stairwell through a door leading to the ground floor and ran out of the hospital building towards the car park. Demarco then approached a woman who was carrying her four-year-old daughter and said: “Where is your car? Give me your car keys.”

The woman shouted for help as Demarco grabbed at the pocket of her cardigan, causing it to rip. The accused then ran away in the direction of Wellshill Cemetery to the north of the hospital.

Meanwhile, police received a 999 call after a witness saw the attempted robbery in the carpark. They found Demarco in the cemetery and took him to Perth Police Station where he was cautioned and charged.

In response to a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice, he replied: “Like that will make a difference to my life sentence, ha ha ha ha.”

The female custody officer was left permanently disfigured after suffering a 6cm laceration to her scalp alongside contusions and soft tissue damage. The male custody officer was found to have suffered bruising to his face and eyes, a minor cut on his right eye socket, soft tissue damage and a superficial bite mark on his arm.

Demarco appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on August 5 where he pleaded guilty to four charges.

On August 23, at the High Court in Stirling, he was sentenced to 40 months’ imprisonment.