Two men left a victim with a bleed to the brain when they attacked him outside a former troubled city centre nightclub. Nottingham Crown Court was told how friend Marcus Wynter and Varnell Bennett repeatedly punched the man, having got into an altercation at the old Sky Bar in The Cornerhouse.
During the assault he fell to the ground and cracked his head on the pavement, rendering him unconscious. Bennett then punched a different victim, who had come to the first one’s aid, to the face.
And in 2012, when he was aged just 16, Wynter was sentenced for playing a part in Nottingham’s riots of 2011. Handing the men, both aged 29, suspended prison terms, Recorder Mark McKone said: “This was a nasty and serious episode of violence with a lot of young people around who witnessed it. When trouble starts, some people look scared and some people look really pleased to get involved in violence.
Get the latest news straight to your phone by joining us on WhatsApp
“In my judgement the two of you were enthusiastic when violence was used. You should be ashamed of what you did, ashamed of the injuries you caused and ashamed of what you have put your families through.”
Eunice Gedzah, prosecuting, said the violence erupted outside the bar in the early hours of April 10, 2023. She said during it the first victim was punched a number of times by both defendants and hit his head in the fall on the pavement outside.
Inside the former Sky Bar in Nottingham.
(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)
The prosecutor said the second victim came to help the first and was punched by Bennett. Mrs Gedzah said: “(The first victim) hit his head and was knocked unconscious. He went to the QMC where a CT scan showed he suffered a bleed to the brain. He also had lacerations above his lip.
“In a victim impact statement he said he does not now feel comfortable in social situations and had nightmares about the assault. The second victim was attacked by Bennett when he tried to help and in his statement said he felt devastated when he could not play football because of his injuries.” Mrs Gedzah said both men were arrested and answered “no comment” to the questions they were asked.
Wynter, of Leroy Wallace Avenue, Radford, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. In 2012 he was handed a detention and training order for being part of what Judge Michael Stokes called “extreme mob violence” when Canning Circus police station was firebombed during the Nottingham riots. He was handed an 18-month jail term, suspended for two years, with 15 rehabilitation sessions and 200 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to the man he attacked.
Matt Smith, mitigating, said his client had not been in trouble since.
Bennett, of Naomi Crescent, Bulwell, pleaded guilty to assault occasioned grievous bodily harm and a public order offence. He was also handed an 18-month jail term, suspended for two years, with 20 rehabilitation sessions and 250 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 compensation to each of the men he attacked.
Digby Johnson, his barrister, said at the time of the assault his client was working two jobs and was going through difficult issues in his life.
In December 2024, two men were jailed following a stabbing inside the ill-fated ex-bar which closed its door permanently in August last year following that later and unrelated attack.