Posts Tagged ‘Crown Court’

King denies ‘decking’ woman at club

Premier League footballer Marlon King says he was not drunk on night out in Soho and is a victim of mistaken identity

A Premier League footballer today denied punching a young woman in the face after she objected to him groping her bottom.

Marlon King, who plays for Wigan Athletic, is accused of breaking the 20-year-old student’s nose after she rejected his advances in the Soho Revue nightclub in London last December.

The victim alleges that the 29-year-old striker shouted “you’re not even in my league, love, I’m a multimillionaire” before “smashing her in the face with a clenched fist”.

The player – identified as the assailant by a football coach and other witnesses in the club – insists he is the victim of mistaken identity, and today drafted in his half-brother and wife to give evidence in his trial at Southwark crown court.

A witness has told the court he thought King was on “drink or drugs” shortly before the attack, but the footballer said he had “never been near drugs” and was not drunk on the evening in question.

He told the court he was out celebrating the news that his wife, Julie, was pregnant with their third child, and had drunk no more than three vodka and Red Bulls.

The prosecution counsel, Roger Daniells-Smith, accused King of “decking” the student after being “rebuffed” by her and her group of friends. “I suggest what happened was you were rebuffed by these girls who didn’t want to know you … they weren’t impressed by your wealth and status,” said the barrister.

“What rebuff? There was no rebuff,” said King, who denies the charges of sexual assault and actual bodily harm. He denies having any contact with his alleged victim but admits he was in the club.

Daniells-Smith suggested King had deliberately changed his appearance in preparation for his court appearance, removing a prominent gold tooth he had had fitted. King said the dental work was a coincidence.

The barrister said there could be no case of mistaken identity because all of the witnesses agreed the attacker was wearing a black cap, and King and his three companions were the only people wearing caps in the club that night. One of King’s friends is almost 20 stone and much taller than him, another is significantly shorter, and his older brother, Dean Everett, was wearing a red cap. King said the group were not the only ones wearing caps.

Asked why he answered “no comment” to all questions when interviewed by police after his arrest, King said he had been following advice from his solicitor. Daniells-Smith suggested it was odd that King would take a solicitor to the police station despite claiming he had no idea what he was to be interviewed about. King said he had been advised by his agent to take a solicitor.

Trevor Burke QC, for King, showed the jury CCTV footage that he said backed up his client’s story. The footballer was shown leaving the club at 2.58am, 20 minutes before the victim’s friend phoned the police to report the assault.

The judge will sum up tomorrow morning.

Homophobic abuse pair have convictions overturned

• We can’t be sure the words came from Mr Trow, says judge
• 43-year-old intends to launch a civil action against police

A 14-year-old boy and a 43-year-old man have had their convictions for shouting homophobic abuse at former Portsmouth and England defender Sol Campbell overturned.

Ian Trow of Milton Keynes and the 14-year-old, who cannot be named, were found guilty of shouting abuse at the player during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth at Fratton Park on 28 September last year.

Trow was fined £500 and banned from attending football matches for three years. The teenage boy was also banned from football matches for three years, and fined £400 costs with an additional £15 to go to a victim surcharge fund. But the convictions have been overturned after the pair launched a successful appeal, which was heard on Monday at Portsmouth Crown Court.

The appeal judge said it was not possible to determine whether Trow or the teenager were personally responsible for shouting abusive words, according to the Milton Keynes Citizen.

Judge Richard Price said: “We can hear the crowd, we can hear the words ‘gay boy’. We can’t be sure those words came from Mr Trow’s mouth. We can’t be sure those words came from the boy’s mouth.”

He overturned the convictions and quashed both sentences.

The pair were the only two of 11 defendants to plead not guilty to the charges. After the match, Hampshire police released photographs of 16 men they wanted to question in connection with the abuse, and a total of 11 were subsequently arrested. Four men pleaded guilty to the offence in January and were sentenced to a three-year football banning order and a fine. Three men and two 15-year-old boys were given police cautions.

Trow said he and the teenager were also given the option of accepting a police caution, but had turned it down in order to prove their innocence. Trow said he now intends to pursue a civil action against the police.

Davenport ’stable but progressing’

• Defender recovering in Bedford hospital
• Club cannot confirm that left leg will definitely be saved

Calum Davenport was said to be “stable but progressing” in hospital as he attempts to recover from being stabbed in both legs. The West Ham United player suffered heavy bleeding after he was allegedly attacked by his sister’s boyfriend with a kitchen knife in Bedford on Saturday.

Worrell Whitehurst, 25, is charged with attacking the 26-year-old centre-back as well as his mother, 49-year-old Kim Stupple, in the driveway of her home in Springfield Avenue in the town.

A West Ham spokeswoman said Davenport, who underwent surgery at Bedford Hospital after the incident, was “stable but progressing”.

The club could not comment on reports that doctors said they were “confident” of saving the footballer’s left leg, which it was feared he may lose after the attack.

Whitehurst was remanded in custody by Bedford magistrates on Monday. He is due to appear at Luton Crown Court on 16 November.

Benítez pleased Gerrard can ‘focus on football’ again

• Liverpool captain had been unable to go on east Asia tour
• ‘He can now concentrate just on football,’ says manager

Steven Gerrard last night celebrated being cleared of affray by scoring for a Liverpool XI in a 2–2 draw with Tranmere Rovers. His scoring return, hours after leaving court, will have pleased Rafael Benítez who, ahead of tomorrow’s friendly with Singapore, said the verdict would allow his captain to “focus on football”.

Benítez has had to deal with a run of injury problems and transfer speculation about senior players during Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Asia and the manager will be relieved that his captain put the incident behind him at Prenton Park against a Rovers side managed by two former Anfield stalwarts John Barnes and Jason McAteer.

Gerrard was unable to travel with his team-mates because of his week-long trial at Liverpool crown court. But, speaking before the 29-year-old’s scoring return, Benítez said he hoped Gerrard would rediscover the form that saw him score 24 goals last season.

“We are really pleased,” he said. “He is very important for us and he can now focus just on football. We are all pleased at the club and over here at the training camp. We have been supporting him all the time and were just waiting for the decision. Now he can concentrate just on football and hopefully play at the same level as last year.”

Benítez confirmed that Xabi Alonso, a target of Real Madrid, was fit following an ankle injury and ready to play against Singapore. Benítez, who also has Yossi Benayoun back from an ankle problem, said: “I am very happy to have Yossi and Xabi back. They are working very hard, the tempo of the session was fantastic and the fans really enjoyed it.

“We are trying to step up our training every day, especially for the international players. Today we had three teams playing against each other. It was good competition and pleasing for me to see.” The new signing Glen Johnson may miss out on tomorrow’s game as he recovers from an achilles injury. “We are being careful with Glen, we do not want to do any further damage,” added Benítez.

Jury clears Gerrard of affray

• Liverpool star ‘unwise’ to get involved, judge says
• Fans gather outside court to cheer ‘Stevie G’ verdict

It took a jury less than 90 minutes today to clear Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard of affray even though he admitted punching a man three times in a bar.

Gerrard maintained that he had acted in self-defence during the brawl at the Lounge Inn in Southport last December, which was triggered by a row over control of music.

Gerrard, 29, had wanted to pick the music in the bar, but Marcus McGee, who was in charge of the CD player, refused his request. The trial was told that although McGee, 34, did not throw any punches, the player believed he was about to be hit.

Earlier in the evening, the England international and his friends had seemed to be in high spirits, singing and dancing as they celebrated a crushing victory over Newcastle United.

Minutes after he had been rebuffed by McGee, the footballer approached him as he sat on a barstool. John Doran, Gerrard’s friend, elbowed McGee in the face, making him reel backwards and forwards. Fearing that he was about to be attacked, Gerrard landed three uppercuts on his face.

During the trial, he apologised for what had happened. Around 100 supporters gathered outside court today and cheered as Gerrard left the building.

Gerrard said: “I would like to put this case behind me now and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on football now.”

Judge Henry Globe, recorder of Liverpool, told Liverpool crown court after the verdict that the football player “could walk away with his reputation intact”.

The judge told Gerrard that in hindsight it “may have been unwise of you” to approach Marcus McGee following the trivial disagreement.

“However, that is far from saying you were criminally responsible for the violence that thereafter erupted.”

The judge said when the violence commenced the victim and his partner Gina Lond, who was standing nearby, thought that Gerrard had started it. Gerrard himself had initially thought McGee was the first person to deliver a blow.

“The CCTV evidence obtained later demonstrated conclusively that you were all mistaken,” the judge noted. The judge said the verdict was credible and the jury had demonstrably paid close attention to the full facts of the case.

Six of Gerrard’s friends, two of whom are Accrington Stanley players, will be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to charges of affray or threatening behaviour in connection with the brawl.

Having twice rejected the lure of Chelsea’s riches, “Stevie G”, as he is universally known to the red half of Liverpool, epitomises the one-club player, the local boy made good who has tried to maintain his links to the Bluebell estate in Huyton, where he grew up.

During the trial he appeared to well up as a statement from Kenny Dalglish was read out in court. “He is a very humble man,” the former Liverpool star said, who was “not the archetypal footballer” and had “never forgotten his roots”.

But the England midfielder’s evident puzzlement, then anger, at the man who, in the words of the prosecution, dared to “say no” to Steven Gerrard betrayed the fact he could never be one of the lads.

Jon Holmes, the veteran football agent whose clients have included David Beckham, said: “Their relationship with their community and the world they’re from has changed enormously. The irony is that Gerrard is probably better connected to his community than others.”

Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin said that there have always been punch-ups and drunken incidents involving playersdown the years, but in the past they were less likely to make the papers.

“It existed when I was playing and probably before that. You had those whose heads were turned by the fame and the money, even when the money was just twice the average wage,” he said.

“You also have to think about the way society treats these players. They are treated like gods and they are ordinary people. If you treat them like gods you will be disappointed.”