Three men involved in fire extinguisher assault remanded in custody

By Ashleigh McDonald

Three men who were involved in an attack on a Co Antrim doorman who was battered with a fire extinguisher were remanded in custody today (Wednesday) ahead of sentencing.

The trio - brothers Ian and Brian Sinclair, and Glen McCullough - each admitted playing a part in the "brutal" attack which left the doorman of the Royal Oak pub in Carrick with multiple injuries including fractures to his skull, jaw, eye and cheekbone.

Belfast Crown Court heard the doorman and a second bouncer were assaulted after they refused to let the three defendants into the bar last March.

Ian Sinclair, who was arrested around an hour later in a vehicle belonging to the now deceased George Gilmour, later told police he believed he was refused entry 'on account of the ongoing loyalist feud involving the Gilmore family and the South East Antrim UDA.'

After listening to details surrounding the incident, Judge Gordon Kerr QC remanded all three men into custody, telling them they would be sentenced in two weeks time.

Both Brian (52) and Ian Sinclair (38) are due to be sentenced for causing the doorman grievous bodily harm with intent, while 54-year old McCullough will be sentenced for causing the doorman actual bodily harm, and assaulting a second doorman.

The addresses of all three men - who each initially faced a charge of attempted murder - cannot be published due to an existing reporting restriction.

The violent incident was captured on the pub's CCTV system, and the footage was played at an earlier hearing in court.

After the three men and a woman were refused entry to the pub on the evening of Saturday March 11, while one camera showed McCullough and a doorman fighting in an alleyway, footage from the camera in the bar's foyer showed the Sinclairs embroiled in a physical confrontation with the other doorman.

Crown barrister Sam Magee said the footage showed the brothers "repeatedly punching" the doorman to the head and body "in a sustained attack, two on one."

The doorman - who is initially seen crouching over in the foyer and trying to protect his head as the assault continues - is then brought to the ground, and is hit up to three times whilst on the ground by a 13.6kg fire extinguisher wielded by Ian Sinclair. 

The same camera also captured the Sinclair brothers leaving the foyer and walking into the alleyway, and seconds later McCullough appeared in the foyer, lifted the fire extinguisher over his head and dropped in at the prone doorman.

While the three men left the scene, members of the public came to the doorman's aid, and he was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Vomiting blood and conscious but dazed, the severely wounded doorman was treated for a number of fractures.

Having sustained a traumatic brain injury in the attack, he was later transferred to Musgrave Park Hospital. Mr Magee said the doorman now suffers from double vision, hearing loss and a reduced sense of smell and taste.

All three men were arrested in the aftermath of the incident. Ian Sinclair was arrested that evening, and during interview he claimed he was refused entry to the bar due to a loyalist feud. He also admitted hitting the doorman with the fire extinguisher - but denied striking his head, saying he struck his shoulder blades instead.

Brian Sinclair was arrested the following afternoon, and made the case that while he didn't know why he was refused entry to the pub, he said he only became involved in the violence after he was punched by the doorman, resulting in him losing a tooth.

Glen McCullough was arrested hours after the attack, and police noted he had swelling to his left eye. After identifying himself on the CCTV footage, he admitted lifting the fire extinguisher but said he dropped it out of panic after seeing the doorman lying in the foyer in a terrible state.

Barrister Sam Magee spoke of the use of a "filled metal fire extinguisher as a weapon" which caused "serious" injuries to the doorman. He also branded the attack as "sustained" and highlighted the "gratuitous infliction of harm" on the doorman.

Defence barrister Charles MacCreanor QC, representing Ian Sinclair, said that since last March's incident his client has been living outside of Carrick "in isolation" from his family.

Saying his client regrets his actions and the harm caused, Mr MacCreanor branded the incident as a "bad case" and said Sinclair had faced up to what he did by pleading guilty. 

Greg Berry QC, the barrister for Brian Sinclair, spoke of his client's good work record. Telling the court his client didn't use the fire extinguisher, Mr Berry said Sinclair had been "open and candid" about his role in an incident which was not pre-meditated.

Mr Berry also pointed out his client only became involved after he was "thumped" by the doorman, and "the fight became his fight." Mr Berry added his client was remorseful for becoming involved and for inflicting injuries.

McCullough's barrister Gavan Duffy QC said that whilst his client had experienced an "aimless existance" in his teens and early 20s, he ended up setting up his own courier business and was a family man with grandchildren.

Mr Duffy also spoke of the difficulties faced by McCullough since being granted bail and banned from returning to Carrick, adding that prior to the events of last March, there was no history between McCullough and the doorman.

After remanding all three men into custody, Judge Kerr said he would sentence the trio for their roles in the violent altercation, on Friday September 14th.