A MEMBER of staff at a 24-hour McDonalds restaurant in Leamington ended up with a broken jaw when three drunken young men ‘acted like thugs’ after turning up to find it was closed.
But at Warwick Crown Court two of them escaped being jailed after the judge heard that their friend who actually caused the injury had only been given a referral order.
Sean Lilley, 20, of Longfellow Road, Warwick, and Callum Turnbull, 18, of Guy Road, Kenilworth , pleaded guilty to affray.
Lilley was sentenced to eight months detention suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 160 hours of unpaid work, while Turnbull was ordered to do 120 hours and was made subject to supervision for 18 months and an 8pm-5am curfew for four months.
Judge Alan Parker observed: “These defendants, while their behaviour was lamentable, were not responsible for the personal attack.
“They were behaving like thugs. But there is a real distinction between these two and the other young man.”
Prosecutor Hugh Williams said in the early hours of the morning on October 12 last year there was an incident at the McDonalds restaurant in Queensway.
He said
“It involved the smashing of a window and one member of staff being punched to the floor and stamped on his face, causing a fractured jaw.”
Mr Williams explained Lilley, Turnbull and a younger friend turned up at the front door of the restaurant, only to be told it was closed because of staff shortages.
Frustrated because they had walked all the way from Warwick to get there after they had been drinking brandy, Lilley kicked the window, which smashed.
When the manageress came out to remonstrate with them she was pushed by one of the three, at which another member of staff came out and stood between them and his boss.
It was then he was punched and knocked to the ground by the defendants’ friend who then stamped on his face, fracturing his jaw.
An electricity board worker who was sitting in his van nearby, waiting for a colleague, then intervened and got between the McDonalds staff and the three youths, who then left.
When they were arrested Lilley told police it had ‘kicked off’ after they had been refused service, and Lilley had kicked the window and the other youth had punched the staff member.
Mr Williams pointed out that, although he had been responsible for the serious injury, he was also only charged with affray and, because of his age, was dealt with in the Youth Court and made subject to a referral order.
Laura Culley, for Lilley, said after the offence he had joined the Army but was medically discharged following a training exercise accident.
Sean Logan, for Turnbull, who was 17 at the time, said: “There is no question that, unpleasant as this incident was, it was a spontaneous matter.”
Both were also ordered to each pay £600 costs each.
