Sunday, 25 July 2010

Hartlepool

Man with violent past in court for punching nightclub boss

A former nightclub doorman involved in a fracas during which a man was killed has appeared in court again for late-night violence.

Stephen Worthy, 32, avoided jail for his latest brush with the law when he punched a licensee as tried to get into his club without paying.

Worthy was jailed for 18 months in 2002 for violent disorder after Phillip McGibbon died following a gang attack in Hartlepool town centre.

Two years earlier, Worthy was sprayed with CS gas by police when he was drunk and disorderly outside a nightclub in Middlesbrough.

In 2006, he was prosecuted for pushing a man into the path of a car, and the following year he assaulted a bouncer as he left a nightclub.

Teesside Crown Court heard that Worthy punched a man in the face in 1997 when he saw him talking to his girlfriend at a filling station.

Mr McGibbon, 25, died after a three-against-one attack in Church Street, Hartlepool, in which he was punched in the back of the neck.

One man was jailed for manslaughter while Worthy, of Tennyson Avenue, Hartlepool, and his brother admitted a charge of violent disorder.

In the early hours of October 25 last year, Worthy caused trouble outside of The Arena nightclub in Middlesbrough, the court was told.

He punched boss Neil Winterbottom after an argument at the door, and left the licensee with a bloody nose, said Jolyon Perks, prosecuting.

In an interview, Worthy said he had been trying to get into the club without paying but lashed out because he thought he was going to be hit.

Peter Makepeace, mitigating, said Worthy, a management supervisor in charge of 21 people, had a lot to loose by being locked up.

He said his long-time girlfriend is expecting their child after years of trying for a baby, and had been the victim of an assault recently.

Worthy was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid community work.

Judge Peter Bowers also ordered him to pay £600 compensation to Mr Winterbottom and £400 towards the cost of the prosecution.

The judge said that sentencing guidelines for a someone who admitted actual bodily harm “paid little respect” to Worthy’s background.

He said: “You get drunk, you cause trouble and sometimes you cause serious injuries. You have got a problem with violence, you have got a problem with drink.

“I am surprised that the sentence of 18 months didn’t cure you of that, but clearly you are quite prepared to go out at night, the fuse is lit and you smoulder to the extent that you think you are being crossed and you explode.

“On the other hand, when you are not in drink you are obviously a perfectly sensible, decent lad, respected by your employers.

“I thought the fact you had been assaulted yourself would make you a little bit more aware of what violence causes.”