A thug hit a bouncer over the head with a stool in "a moment of madness" outside a city bar.
On March 6 of this year, James Preston tried to assault a bouncer outside Fitzgeralds Bar, on Slater Street. During the incident, he was hit over the head with a bar stool by a bouncer.
The doormen and Preston’s colleague, John O’Keefe, who had initially been trying to help the door staff, then threw stools at each other and Preston threw a table into the bar. Liverpool Crown Court heard police were nearby dealing with an unrelated incident and they rushed around to arrested the two men, who both work as stone fabricators for a kitchen company.
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Judge David Swinnerton told the defendants: “You are both large men, tall, physically imposing. The way you behaved in the early hours of the morning would have been extremely frightening.
“The city prospers from the night time economy and this sort of behaviour puts people off from going out and it affects the lives of people in the pubs. It frightens people and puts them at risk of injury because people like you in drink cannot behave themselves and behave that thoroughly disgraceful way.
"I hope when you watched the CCTV footage you were ashamed of yourselves."
He said out that the footage inside and outside the bar vividly showed their behaviour and he pointed out that despite it being 5.30am the bar and street were busy. Preston, 27, of Boundary Road and O’Keefe, 23, of Manley Road, both in Huyton, both pleaded guilty to affray.
Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, said the incident happened after Preston, who was extremely intoxicated and aggressive, was trying to confront another customer. Preston struggled with door staff and O’Keefe, who had gone outside with a woman, helped them eject him.
Preston tried to get back in and again struggled with door staff.
Ms Beesley said: “While the door staff were struggling with Preston, O’Keefe grabbed hold of one of the doormen from behind and pulled him to the ground before raining punches down on him. The other doorman managed to get Preston outside before Preston pushed him backwards aggressively.
"O’Keefe grabbed hold of Preston and pulled him backwards before Preston fell to the floor and O’Keefe punched the doorman who was still dazed on the ground. Preston again tried to get into the bar.
"The doorman who was left on his own picked up a stool and hit him over the head with this to prevent him entering the bar causing Preston to fall to the ground. The doorman and O'Keefe picked up and threw stools at each other.
“Preston picked up a table and ran at the door with table in hand and threw this into the bar. O'Keefe picked up another stool and threw this at the doorman.
“Preston went to attack the doorman who had hold of bar stool and hit Preston with this to protect himself. Preston and O'Keefe continued to try and attack the doorman."
Judge Swinnerton sentenced the two men to eight months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and were each ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work and pay £212 prosecution costs. O'Keefe was also ordered to carry out 25 days rehabilitation activities and Preston has to carry out 10 days rehabilitation activities.
Paul Becker, defending, said that O’Keefe had been assisting inside the club and looked relaxed but then there was “an explosion of 30 - 60 seconds of disgraceful behaviour. It was a moment of madness.”
He said that he has no previous convictions for violence, works hard, and would lose his job if jailed.
Defence barrister Michael Bagley said that in the incident Preston “suffered a broken wrist and a significant blow to the head which might have knocked some sense into him.”
He said: “He wants to apologise for his excessive aggression and assures the court it will never happen again.”
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