Trio are jailed for ‘cowardly’ assault on pub’s doorman
THREE Co Antrim men who were involved in a “cowardly and vicious” attack on a pub doorman who was battered with a fire extinguisher were imprisoned yesterday.
Brothers Ian and Brian Sinclair, and Glen McCullough, were all handed jail terms for an incident last March which left a doorman at the Royal Oak pub in Carrickfergus with multiple injuries, including fractures to his skull, jaw, eye and cheekbone.
He and a second bouncer were assaulted after they refused entry to Ian Sinclair.
Ian Sinclair later claimed this was “on account of the ongoing loyalist feud involving the Gilmore family and the South East Antrim UDA”.
During yesterday’s sentencing, Judge Gordon Kerr QC said the attack went “well beyond a reaction to being refused a drink”, and was a vicious attack on a man working in a public place.
The judge added: “It is clear his time working as a doorman is now over.”
While Brian (52) and Ian Sinclair (38) caused the doorman grievous bodily harm with intent, McCullough (54) was acquitted of this charge, and admitted a lesser charge of causing him actual bodily harm. In addition, Brian Sinclair admitted a charge of common assault against the second doorman.
Judge Kerr said while Ian Sinclair lifted the fire extinguisher and brought it down on the prone doorman, he accepted Brian did not use it in the attack.
Ian Sinclair was jailed for nine years, his brother Brian for six years, while McCullough received three years. All three were told they will serve half their sentences behind bars, with the remaining half on licence on their release. Their addresses cannot be published due to an existing
reporting restriction. Judge Kerr said after watching CCTV footage of the incident on the evening of Saturday, March 11 last year, it was clear that after being refused entry Ian Sinclair threw the first punch at the doorman — which prompted him to strike out with a punch that connected with Brian Sinclair.
While one camera showed McCullough and a doorman fighting in an alleyway, the camera in the
bar’s foyer showed the Sinclairs embroiled in a physical confrontation with the other doorman.
The Sinclair brothers launched a joint attack on the doorman, repeatedly punching him in the head and body. This aspect of the attack was described as “sustained and relentless, two on one” by Judge Kerr. The doorman — who was initially seen crouching over in the foyer and trying to protect his head as the assault continued — was brought to the ground, and hit up to three times with a 13.6kg fire extinguisher wielded by Ian Sinclair. Judge Kerr told the court the blows “appear to have been directed to the upper body” of the prone and at this point defenceless doorman.
The same camera captured the Sinclair brothers walking out into the alleyway. Seconds later McCullough appeared in the foyer, lifted the fire extinguisher over his head and dropped it on the visibly injured man.
Judge Kerr said while it could not be determined if this caused any injuries, McCullough’s plea suggested he did cause actual harm by lifting the extinguisher then dropping it as the doorman “lay helpless on the ground”.
The victim now suffers from double vision, hearing loss and a reduced sense of smell and taste, and while Judge Kerr said he had made a good recovery physically, it can “only be imagined the psychological impact this has had on him. It is clear his time working as a doorman is now over”.
Judge Kerr said while all three men were involved, their involvement differed which, along with personal circumstances, was reflected in the sentencing.