Doormen jailed for killing Shrewsbury man
Thursday 27th May 2010, 2:00PM BST.
Neil Stokes
TWO DOORMEN who killed a Shropshire father of four at a Shrewsbury nightclub were this afternoon jailed for the attack.
Daryl Brown, 33, of Severn Drive Wellington, and Neil Stokes, 23, of Spring Gardens, Ditherington, Shrewsbury, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court over the violent death of Darren Griffiths.
Stokes, who had admitted a charge of manslaughter, was sentenced to six years while Brown, who was found guilty after a trial, was jailed for four- and-a-half years by his Honour Mr Justice Kenneth Parker.
Neither man showed any emotion, but members of Mr Griffiths’ family, who were sat in the public gallery, began to weep.
Mr Griffiths, 41, of Harmer Hill, near Shrewsbury, died following an attack at the Liquid & Diva nightclub in Ravens Meadow, Shrewsbury, on June 29 last year.
Mr Justice Parker said Mr Griffiths had been refused entry to the club and had engaged in some banter with the door staff.
It started to turn aggressive and Stokes then grabbed him around the throat putting him in a choke hold which crushed the cartilage in his Adam’s apple.
He was then taken to ground in a CCTV blind spot within the club and Brown restrained him while Stokes punched him in an attack which lasted about eight minutes.
Daryl Brown
Mr David Evans, for Stokes, described his client as a crying hulk who had shown great remorse for the attack.
Mr Mark Wall, for Brown, said his client never punched or kicked Mr Griffiths and offered assistance to paramedics.
Following the case Mr Griffiths’ wife Amanda and sister Sharon Emmett issued a statement.
They said: “The pain and loss we feel is indescribable.”
By Andrew Morris at Birmingham Crown Court
UK News
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