Strip club bouncers handed suspended jail terms after customer hit by bar stool
Three strip club bouncers involved in violence that left a customer with a serious head injury have been spared jail.
The trouble that flared during the early hours of the morning at Bing Gentlemen’s Club in West Bromwich could have been triggered by a customer groping one of the dancers, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Security staff Gregory Beckford, aged 37, 33-year-old Tony Onokah and 26-year-old Serdar Mohammed stepped in to restore order - but went over the top, the jury decided.
Mr Harinderpal Dhabi, prosecuting, said: “There was a disturbance in the early hours while the club had a number of security staff on duty and was quite busy with customers.”
Mr Damanjit Singh, aged 27, was hit over the head by the base of a bar stool thrown while he and other people were being ushered down stairs and out of the club.
The blow sent him tumbling to the bottom where a friend dragged him outside onto the pavement and called for an ambulance.
Mr Singh was taken to hospital and kept in an induced coma for around 12 days after suffering a traumatic brain injury and depressed skull fracture.
Another customer needed hospital treatment after being punched several times but was not seriously hurt, the court was told.
Mr Dhabi said the violence may have started after "one of the dancers was touched inappropriately."
There was then a clash on the dance floor involving customers and members of the club’s security staff.
Onokah from Park Lane, Fallings Park; Mohammedi from Market Place, Great Bridge and Beckford of Bainbridge Road, Smethwick were each found guilty of violent disorder during the incident which occured around 2.30am on March 5 2017. They had denied the offence.
The jury acquitted Beckford of wounding with intent while also clearing Onokah of unlawful wounding and Mohammedi of possession of a baseball bat.
Judge Simon Ward gave all three men 12 month prison sentences suspended for 18 months. He told them: "You have been acquitted of other serious charges but most people found guilty of violent disorder go straight to prison.
"You three did not start what happened in the club but what you did was over the top. You joined in an unlawful fight but there are good reasons in all of your cases why I can suspend the sentence."
