Boxer Scott Harrison handed a lenient sentence after plea bargaining over attack on a policeman
SCOTTISH boxer Scott Harrison has made a far from triumphant return to Alhaurin, where he lived for a number of years.
For this time the 31-year-old is spending time at his majesty’s pleasure in Alhaurin de la Torre prison, rather than the plush 450,000 euro villa he owned just a mile away.
Harrison has been handed a two-and-a-half year jail sentence for attacking a policeman and stealing a car.
The boxer was arrested as he arrived in Malaga to clear his name.
Warrant
The former featherweight champion admitted his guilt at a rushed court hearing on Friday.
He had been facing an eight year sentence for the assault of two men and the theft of a car in Alhaurin in October 2006.
An international warrant had been issued for his arrest after he failed to show for a trial in September 2008. He had been in prison in Scotland at the time.
At the hearing at Malaga Provincial Court, he admitted to all the charges in return for a more lenient sentence.
His defence lawyer Rosario Gomez said: “I advised him he was taking a huge risk if he went to trial and told him the best thing was to take the offer on the table.
“We’re pleased with the outcome given the circumstances.”
His father Peter, who had been at the hearing, said: “We’re obviously very disappointed Scott is not coming home. This outcome was unexpected for us.
“We will try to visit him over the weekend in prison but we haven’t been able to see him yet. He is still wearing the same clothes he was arrested in on Thursday morning.”
Harrison had been out drinking with his uncle Jack McGill, 52, when they got into a fight with each other in an Alhaurin pub.
As the Olive Press exclusively revealed, they had argued over McGill writing off the boxer’s new Lincoln 4×4 on the main road between Alhaurin and Coin.
They had later left a pub on Calle Gerald Brenan, where they had attempted to steal a car from a couple driving past.
Harrison had attacked the Spanish driver Jose Manuel Ortega, 31, while his pregnant girlfriend Patricia Galvez, 24, looked on and then called police.
Detectives soon managed to pick up the pair, who were taken to the Guardia Civil barracks in the town.
It was here that during questioning Harrison had lashed out at an officer, injuring his eye.
The officer had been unable to work for months and still has sight problems.
McGill had been facing the same charges, but killed himself in May 2008.
The boxer has had numerous problems since winning the WBO crown in the late 1990s.
The Olive Press reported how in May 2007 he had been arrested again after attacking three men in a brothel Oxigeno outside the town.
In Scotland, he has served time for a string of offences, including three assaults, kicking a policeman, resisting arrest, possessing Valium and breach of the peace.
In July 2007, we reported how his 450,000 euro mansion between Alhaurin el Grande and Alhaurin de la Torre had been trashed after a series of wild parties.
The villa – which has now been repossessed to pay debts – had its entry phone, glass patio doors and other windows smashed.
The swimming pool was filthy, while a pool table had been dragged into the back garden. There were weeds everywhere and most of the trees had died.
Mysteriously, there had been no sign of Harrison apart from the remains of a tatty Scottish flag.
Ironically, he has now made a slightly less triumphant return to Alhaurin. This time to Alhaurin de la Torre prison, which is less than a mile from the four-bedroom home in the area. He is likely to spend around a year in prison, having spent five months on remand after his arrest in 2006.
LIFE AND CRIMES OF WORLD CHAMP
Photograph: Richard Scott/PA
ROUND 1 2005
Banned from every pub in East Kilbride, Scotland, after reports that he is picking fights.
ROUND 2 April 2006
Tear gas used to restrain Harrison when he is arrested in Glasgow for kicking a police officer.
ROUND 3 May 2006
Pulls out of a title defence in Belfast after an alleged incident in a nightclub.
ROUND 4 July 2006
Police attend the Westwood Bar in East Kilbride after Harrison flouts the smoking ban.
ROUND 5 October 2006
Arrested in Spain for allegedly beating up a policeman after trying to steal a car.
ROUND 6 December 2006
It emerges that Harrison owes about £80,000 in outstanding taxes.
ROUND 7 January 2007
Arrested in Glasgow for possession of valium tablets.
ROUND 8 March 2007
Arrested in Govanhill for breach of peace and threatening to kill man called David Brown.
ROUND 9
Arrested after assaulting three men at a brothel in Alhaurin.
ROUND 10 July 2007
Declared bankrupt after losing his fight with taxman over unpaid taxes.
ROUND 11 February 2008
Pleads guilty to breaching the peace and resisting arrest at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
ROUND 12 September 2008
Jailed for eight months for drink-driving and assaulting his girlfriend Stacey Gardner.
What an obnoxious piece of shit!
The man is neither obnoxious or a piece of sh*t.I was in prison in Alhurin in Spain with him he is descent fella.The man has had a long string of problems.Sometimes fame and fortune can take the best of you if your not careful.There but for the grace of god go i.Its good to remember that before your judgement……Chrissy boy…..
Certainly looks like he’s “lost 12+ Rounds” in a 15 Round match. Best he stay away from “fame and fortune” so he doesn’t continue to prove he’s a menace to the Public.
A 10 – 15 year vacation in Jail for him is good for Public.