Doormen jailed over death of man ejected from bar

Three doormen have been jailed for causing the death of a 30-year-old man outside a bar in Doncaster.

Jamie Kelly, from Leeds, died in hospital after he was restrained and seriously injured by the men after being thrown out of the Vintage Rock Bar in Silver Street in May 2022.

Mark Rowing, 37, Dwayne Watson, 44, and David Williams, 30, were sentenced on Thursday after pleading guilty to gross negligence manslaughter at Sheffield Crown Court in February.

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson, said each of the defendants was an "ordinary man, doing an ordinary job, in difficult circumstances" but said their actions had been "out of all proportion".

The court heard Kelly had just completed a degree in music production and had been out in the town centre celebrating the birth of a friend's baby.

After seeing him "playfighting" with a friend and being intoxicated and "unsteady on his feet", Rowing, from Doncaster, decided to eject him from the bar, prosecutor Nicholas Johnson KC said.

He said Kelly's behaviour was "more drunk than violent" but he was "not going quietly".

The barrister said Rowing's actions in pushing Kelly out of the door had "escalated" the situation and that once outside, after some pushing between them, Rowing had put his arm around Kelly's neck.

A witness said Kelly "looked like he was being choked, his eyes were rolling back" and he had "put his fingers up and started counting down" as if about to pass out.

He was released but, after throwing a punch at Rowing who was "goading" him, was wrestled to the ground again.

Watson, from Nottingham, who had come from another bar across the road, then held Kelly "tightly" in a headlock while Rowing held his arms.

Meanwhile, Williams, also from Nottingham, came up from a third bar and crossed Kelly's feet, holding them down sporadically.

Johnson said "all three [men] applied significant pressure" to him for about three minutes.

He said the manner of taking him to the ground had been "dangerously disproportionate" and Kelly could have easily been held "without the crushing of the arms head and neck".

The court heard the police arrived about two minutes after the men released the pressure to find him breathing faintly but otherwise unresponsive.

Kelly was taken to hospital where he later died due to asphyxiation at about 01:00 BST on 2 May.

He was found to have injuries including damage to his trachea, voice box and bruising to the back of his head and body.

Kelly's sister, Louise, said in a victim impact statement her brother used to "light up any room with positive energy, charm and a fantastic sense of humour".

"Anyone who had the pleasures of meeting him would have only good things to say about him," she added.

She noted he had never been in a fight before and would be the first to "talk over the situation and calm things down".

The judge heard all three defendants were committed fathers and had no previous convictions or cautions.

All three were authorised by the Security Industry Authority and had completed training around physical interventions, although this was as far back as 2013.

Judge Richardson said it was an "exceptionally difficult case" to pass judgement on.

"It is a truly dreadful state of affairs to send men like [you] to prison," he said.

"On occasion, even good people make terrible mistakes amounting to a crime, and that is what has happened here.

"An otherwise thoroughly decent individual is now dead. Equally, each one of you is thoroughly decent in so many respects," he said.

He said it was a "gross error and a grotesque response ... out of all proportion".

Det Ch Insp Andy Knowles said: "Jamie's death was needless and avoidable tragedy and the actions of Rowing, Watson and Williams meant that Jamie's young life was taken away from him at a time when he had so much to look forward to."

Rowing, of Exchange Street, Doncaster, was jailed for two years and six months, Watson, of Kingston Road, Worksop, was jailed for two years, and Williams, of Kinross Crescent, Nottingham, was jailed for one year and eight months.

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