Man jailed after 'peacemaker' killed in pub attack

A man who fatally punched a father of one attempting to act as "a peacemaker" in a pub beer garden has been jailed.

Harley Fox, 34, died in hospital two days after he tried to stop Dilon Price attacking John Francis at Market Inn, in Main Street in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire, on 8 June last year.

Nottingham Crown Court heard Fox married his "childhood sweetheart" while in a coma in hospital before he died.

Price, 30, of Back Lane in Sutton-in-Ashfield, had pleaded guilty to Fox's manslaughter at a previous hearing and was sentenced to five years and 11 months in prison on Friday.

Price had also admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Francis at a previous hearing.

The court heard Francis arrived at the pub with his wife after a family barbecue to celebrate her birthday and their wedding anniversary on the day of the attack.

He was playing pool with a friend when he was approached by Price, who had parked outside and entered the pub shortly before 21:00 BST.

Sarah Knight, prosecuting, said CCTV footage appeared to show the defendant accuse Francis of cheating, after which an argument followed where Price was seen throwing punches.

Others intervened, and Francis left the bar area and went to the beer garden, but Price - who was described by witnesses as being "aggressive" and "looking for a fight" - came up to him outside and assaulted him.

"Francis was pushed by the defendant and then he was subjected to an assault," said Knight.

"Others tried to intervene, and amongst them was Harley Fox."

The court heard Fox had stood between Price and Francis and told the defendant "that was enough", but was then pushed and punched, banging his head on a picnic table and then a concrete floor.

"It was immediately clear that Harley was very badly hurt," said Knight.

"He wasn't in control of himself, and he went into cardiac arrest."

The court heard Price went back inside the pub before leaving through the front door and going into his van.

"The defendant appeared agitated and worked up, and was remonstrating as he got back into his van," said Knight.

"Witnesses described him calling out words of the effect 'that's what you get for messing with a traveller boy'."

The court heard Fox was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, but was declared deceased on 10 June, with a brain injury caused by the punch identified as leading to his death.

Knight said the deceased "was trying to act as a peacemaker throughout the entirety of this short-lived incident".

"At no stage did he do anything wrong," she added.

The court heard Price handed himself into police at Mansfield on 11 June, where he issued a prepared statement saying he acted in self-defence.

He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, before changing his pleas at a later hearing.

In a victim impact statement she read out in court, Jordan Fox said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from being in the pub at the time.

She said she and Fox were "childhood sweethearts" who were planning to get married, which happened while he was in a coma in hospital.

"What should have been the happiest day of our lives turned into our final goodbye," she said.

She also rejected Price's change of pleas, which she said was "selfish and cowardly".

Donna Thompson, who also read her statement in court, said her son "was the fourth emergency service in our family".

She said her son should have been able to "live his life, see his family grow, be able to walk his daughter down the aisle".

"I do not believe that [Price] will ever realise the pain and devastation that he has caused," she said.

"Had he been remorseful, he would have pleaded guilty a lot sooner."

Mary Prior KC, defending Price, acknowledged Fox "was nothing other than a peacemaker", and said the defendant was a man "with limited intellect [and] limited education" who believed the row in the pub was started by Francis.

She said Price could not read or write but had contacted the judge to express his remorse for "causing a lifetime of pain to Harley's family".

"If he could go back in time he would change the way he behaved," she said.

In sentencing, Judge Robert Egbuna said he hoped Price's remorse outlined in a letter to court "is genuine", but said not admitting the offences at the earliest opportunity "exacerbated [the] anguish and pain" of the victims' families and friends.

He told the defendant a day that "should have been full of joy" had been turned into a tragedy "because of your actions".

"You have robbed a family of a life, and caused untold heartache for them," he said.

"Jordan married the love of her life on his deathbed - one cannot understand the anguish that she felt."

After sentencing, Det Insp Matt Scott, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and loved ones of Harley, who has lost his life in such tragic circumstances.

"A life has been cut short following what should have been an enjoyable evening at the pub.

"The behaviour displayed by Dilon Price was totally unacceptable and his actions have led to untold misery for Harley's family and friends."

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