Pub attacker's sentence cut after court brawl

A man who punched a father-of-five shortly before he was killed outside a Halloween party had his prison sentence reduced after he was attacked at court.

Jason Gaskin, 53, died after he was assaulted by Jake Wells, 27, outside Park Sports and Social Club in Doncaster in the early hours of 29 October 2023.

Wells was jailed for four years and nine months after pleading guilty to manslaughter, while James Neeson, who admitted assaulting the victim, had his sentence cut from 12 to nine months.

Judge Jeremy Richardson KC told Neeson, who sported a bloodied face as he stood in the dock, he had reduced the amount of time he would spend in jail as an "act of mercy" following the "outrageous" attack.

The court heard how a dispute between Gaskin and 50-year-old Neeson had started inside the club during a lock-in following a Halloween party at the venue, when Gaskin was said to have been in a "verbal altercation" with Neeson's wife.

CCTV showed Gaskin talking to a woman as she danced around a table he was sat at, before Neeson walked round the back of the victim and landed two blows to the side of his head in quick succession.

The conflict moved outside onto the street where the pair were followed by a small group, including Wells, who then landed a single punch on Gaskin which knocked him clean out.

Paramedics who attended about 15 minutes later declared the victim, who had a serious heart condition, dead at the scene.

Prosecutor David Brook said Wells and Neeson, both of Balby in Doncaster, were seen hugging inside the club shortly after the fatal punch and jokingly "re-enacted" the incident by "mimicking" punches being thrown.

Neeson then headed upstairs to an office at the club and tried to hide CCTV recordings, but the footage was later found in a loft at the venue by police.

So crucial was the CCTV evidence to the prosecution, the judge said the criminal case against both defendants would have been "slender" had Neeson succeeded in hiding the footage.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Gaskin's widow, Charmaine, from whom he had been separated at the time of his death, said his loss had "quite literally ripped our family apart".

"Jason was well known in the community," she said. "Everyone has a story to tell about him. He was larger than life."

Referencing the impact on the couple's 15-year-old daughter, she said: "I don't get a day where I don't think about what my child has lost."

Neeson, who had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice, was attacked as he sat in the foyer before the hearing was due to begin at 10:30 on Monday.

The court was told two people had been arrested and members of Gaskin's family were subsequently barred from watching proceedings from the public gallery.

Judge Richardson condemned Wells and Neeson for the "mindless violence" which resulted in Gaskin's death.

But, turning to sentence Neeson, he said: "You were attacked this morning outside this court by people who may well be prosecuted. It appears they were connected to the family of the deceased.

"That should not have happened. It is outrageous you were attacked at court this morning."

The judge said that as an "act of mercy", Neeson's sentence would be reduced by three months.

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