Cleared, carer who suffocated ‘burglar’ during citizen’s arrest
A CARER who suffocated a suspected burglar while performing a citizen’s arrest was cleared of manslaughter yesterday.
Nathan Smith, 38, knelt on Craig Wiltshire’s back for nine minutes after tackling him in the street.
A court heard Mr Smith refused to ease off even when the victim twice told him he could not breathe. Mr Wiltshire, 43, suffered severe brain damage and died in hospital two weeks after the incident on November 20, 2019.
The carer denied wrongdoing, claiming he believed Mr Wiltshire was ‘pretending’ so he would release him and he could escape. Mr Wiltshire was believed to have been behind a string of thefts and breakins in the Bristol suburb where Mr Smith worked as a live-in carer.
Despite repeated complaints to the police, there was no active investigation into the crimes. CCTV footage showed Mr Smith tackle Mr Wiltshire to the ground after he was spotted cycling around the neighbourhood dressed all in black in the early hours.
Michael Crooks, the man Mr Smith cares for, was also seen in the video adding his weight to Mr Wiltshire for a few minutes while his son Ben kicked the man twice. Both admitted to a charge of com mon assault and were not charged with manslaughter.
A post-mortem examination found the victim had the sedative diazepam and the heroin-substitute methadone in his system and a pre-existing heart condition.
Mr Smith said he did not know Mr Wiltshire was vulnerable to cardiorespiratory arrest and that someone in the prone position for a prolonged period of time was dangerous.
On Wednesday, a jury at Bristol Crown Court cleared Mr Smith of manslaughter after four hours and seven minutes of deliberations.
The jury had been told to assume Mr Wiltshire was the man suspected of committing the burglaries and that the arrest was not a case of mistaken identity.
The prosecution claimed Mr Smith was angry with the victim and he took the opportunity to punish him for his alleged crimes. But in his closing speech on Tuesday, the defendant’s barrister David Hughes described the arrest as a ‘public-spirited act’, adding: ‘Nathan Smith did not go out as a vigilante to exact revenge or to mete out punishment.’
Professor Jason Payne-James, an expert in forensic and legal medicine, told the court he did not think Mr Smith’s method of restraint, as a member of the public with no training, was inappropriate. But he said it was likely the victim would have survived if he had been sat up or rolled on to his back when he said he could not breathe.