A drug dealing thug who took part in an horrific gang attack to steal a Rolex watch from a dad has been jailed after he admitted manslaughter.
Jordan Short was 19 when he joined a gang which robbed joiner Steven McMyler, a 34-year-old father of two young children, in the grounds of Wigan Parish Church on August 6, 2020. Today (Tuesday) Short was jailed for his part in the crime. Four others were caged last year.
On the day he was killed, Mr McMyler had been to Goldsmiths' jewellers in Wigan to get an updated valuation for his Rolex Submariner watch, which had previously been valued at £11.500, prosecutor Mark Ford KC told Manchester Crown Court.
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Later he went to The Raven pub in the Wallgate area of Wigan where he got talking to a Bolton man, Lewis Peake, who took a shine to the gold timepiece after Mr McMyler told him of its likely worth, the court was told.
Peake plotted to rob the watch and was captured on CCTV chatting to two teenagers who he tried in vain to recruit as part of his robbery plan, said the KC. But Peake persisted and, with others, 'surrounded' Mr McMyler in the grounds of Wigan Parish Church.
"During the course of the attack Mr McMyler was kicked forcefully to the head. He was rendered unconscious immediately. His watch was removed," said the KC. The gang reacted by 'grinning and laughing', the court heard.
But with the victim unconscious on the ground, the the gang then 'turned on' Peake who fled after he was struck with a bottle.
Passing members of the public administered first aid but Mr McMyler, who went into respiratory and cardiac arrest, died at the scene.
Jordan Short was considered too ill to take part in the trial of his co-defendants, who were found guilty of manslaughter and conspiracy to rob and jailed in November last year.
The court heard Short had suffered a breakdown while he was on remand at Forest Bank prison in Salford and his case was separated from the other members of the gang. He was moved to a secure psychiatric unit after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
The prosecution at last year's trial of his co-defendants told the jury it was Short who delivered the kick to the head of Mr McMyler.
'Our hearts have been ripped from our chest'
At a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Monday and Tuesday, family members delivered heart-breaking victim personal statements about Mr McMyler, who leaves behind two young daughters who were aged three and seven at the time.
The prosecutor read out a statement on behalf of mother Carole McMyler, a district nurse who said the tragedy had 'broken' her family.
"Our hearts have been ripped from our chest and shattered into tiny pieces. It's a pain I wouldn't wish on anyone," she said, adding that her husband had been left a 'shell of a man'.
She said her son's youngest daughter had said she wanted to die to be with her father while the older daughter had 'screamed like a wild animal' when she learned of her father's death.
Mrs McMyler said of her son: "He would give you the shirt off his back. He had the biggest heart." She added that 'an entire generation of people are now irrevocably altered forever', urging the judge to stop him 'committing such heinous crimes again'.
The mother of his youngest child, Sianead Dewar, in another statement read out in court, said the crime had 'devastated' the child.
The girl, she said, had asked: "Mummy, will he be home soon?"
"The truth is I don't think our daughter will ever get over the loss of her dad," added Ms Dewar.
Natalie Ralphs, the mother of the older daughter, stood in court to read out her statement, with Short looking on from the dock.
She said the killing was 'barbaric' and their lives had been 'shattered into a thousand pieces'. Ms Ralphs described the moment she told her daughter about her father's death.
"She covered her eyes and ears and screamed 'no, no, no, not my daddy' and her heart broke in that second," said Ms Ralphs.
Short had previous convictions before killing
The court heard that Short was convicted in April 2018 of supplying cocaine and heroin in Bangor, in January of the same year, when he was 16. Police found him with £3.053 which he claimed was a present from his mother and three mobile phones.
Analysis of the phones revealed images of drugs and guns, and also that he was working for a supplier referred to as 'OT'.
The court heard, aged 17, he was a passenger in a Vauxhall Corse which had been stolen during a burglary at a home in Preston and which sped away from police, ran a red light and crashed into a tree. He was convicted of handling stolen goods, aggravated vehicle taking and fraud.
Short was also convicted of supplying cocaine and heroin, aged 17, on an occasion in St Helens. He was said to still be under supervision at the time of the killing of Mr McMyler. The court heard that while on remand he had set fire to his prison cell and threatened guards.
Michelle Colborne KC, defending, said: "It's right we put on record that the defendant acknowledges entirely grief that's palpable in causing immeasurable pain that the entire family and those affected by the death of Mr McMyler will be feeling."
The barrister continued: "The defendant, albeit 21 now, is still emotionally immature and does not have the facility, the education and intelligence to be able to be able to express himself in a manner that others more fortunate than him can. But what he does say, in amongst some very inept ways of expressing himself, is that he's very sorry for what happened. It can't be said there's no remorse."
Her client, she said, had been beaten in his prison cell at Forest Bank and 'would not say a word about what happened to him'.
"From the moment he was born this is a young person who has been affected by the thinking and manipulation and effect of others," said the KC. She agreed there had been 'pre-meditation' but she said the crime was an 'impulsive act'.
Her client, she said, had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for some time and became 'very very unwell' while he was on remand. In November last year, he was moved a secure psychiatric unit under the Mental Health Act where his condition had improved, the court was told.
Short had been 'neglected' as a child and his alcoholic mother was a victim of domestic abuse, Ms Colborne told the court. Her client had started taking drugs aged 13 and was 'effectively homeless'.
The defendant had been 'manipulated and exploited' by drug dealers, she said.
'It was a brutal and sickening attack'
In November last year Peake, 30, of James Street, Little Lever, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, while Michael Wilson, 20, of Northfield Close, Kirkby, was sentenced to nine years' detention. A 17-year-old was sent to a young offenders' institution for eight years, while the 14-year-old was handed six years in custody. As youths, they cannot be named in press reports.
The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, told Short: "As the CCTV so graphically shows, it was a brutal and sickening attack on a vulnerable man who did absolutely nothing what-so-ever to justify what happened to him. No-one in court could have failed to be moved by the victim personal statements read out. They spoke of utter devastation and excruciating on-going agony that your heartless joint actions with others caused Steven McMyler's family, ripping out from their lives the much-loved father of two daughters."
The judge went on that Short would be sentenced on the basis the defendant was part of a 'joint enterprise to rob' with others as there had been 'no admissable evidence' as to who had kicked the victim.
Mr Justice Sweeney said the crime had been aggravated by the fact his victim was 'vulnerable' because he was isolated and intoxicated, and because Short had previous convictions and was still under supervision by the time he killed Mr McMyler.
The judge said mitigating factors were that the defendant had suffered 'years of parental neglect and trauma', that he had led a 'nomadic existence' and had been exploited by others. The defendant had also been suffering from 'undiagnosed, untreated' schizophrenia.
Short, 21, of Rushey Hey Road, Kirkby, was jailed for 13 years and six months years after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to rob as well as four counts of supplying class A drugs, handling stolen goods, aggravated vehicle taking and three counts of fraud. He will be eligible for parole two-thirds of the way through his sentence. He was also handed an extended three year licence period.
Moments after he was sentenced, a member of the McMyler family left the public gallery from which there was no view of the dock to go into the courtroom to shout at Short: "F***ing rat!" He was ordered to leave the court. Carole McMyler apologised to court staff.
Outside court, Mrs McMyler told the M.E.N. her opinion of Short was 'too explicit' to mention. She added: "It's not the sentence we hoped for but then no sentence would ever be enough for what they've done. It was a needless act, greed."
Mrs McMyler went on: "It will always be murder to me."
Detective Chief Inspector Wes Knights, of GMPs Major Incident Team, said: "Short’s sentencing today was the final stage in this long-running investigation and we hope that the result brings some form of closure for Steven’s family, though we are fully aware that no result could ever be enough to take away the pain of losing him.
"This was an utterly heinous, cowardly and shocking attack on an innocent man, and all to make some money. Short has shown no remorse since being arrested, accepting his involvement in Steven’s death only as the trial was due to commence, but has now faced justice for his actions and we are pleased that he will be taken off our streets for the foreseeable future."
Steven's family said in a statement: "Today’s conviction is not the one we had hoped for or wanted, as no sentence will ever be enough to reflect the despicable attack for pure greed on our much loved son. One day those five responsible will again walk the streets, our son will not.
"Our lives were left shattered by this despicable crime and we will never come to terms with what has happened. Steven's two daughters have been left without their dad. We will ensure that his memory and legacy will live on in his daughters and all those who knew and loved him.
"We would also like to take this opportunity to thank GMP including our family liaison officer, and all those involved for their total dedication to the case. As a family we would now like to be given time to grieve and try to move forward without Steven in our lives."
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