Thug left man lifeless in the road where he was then struck by a car
A pub doorman has been convicted of manslaughter after punching a man he did not know and leaving him to die in the middle of a dual carriageway.
A jury at Leeds Crown Court found Dylan Maxwell guilty of killing Luke Thompson, rejecting the claim he was preempting an attack and hit out first in self defence.
It was suggested that 25-year-old Mr Thompson had attempted to intervene in a heated discussion between Maxwell and a woman during a night out in Pontefract in 2023, before being punched several times by Maxwell.
CCTV showed Maxwell appearing to lift his arms in a show of celebration as Mr Thompson lay lifeless.
Left unconscious in the road, a car then accidentally ran over the lower half of his body.
The jury retired to deliberate shortly after 11am this morning, before returning a unanimous guilty verdict just before 3pm.
Maxwell, of Wood View Avenue, Castleford, was remanded and taken into custody and will return to court on June 23 to be sentenced.
He was told by Judge Robin Mairs to expect it will be an immediate custodial sentence.
During the trial, the court was played harrowing CCTV footage of the fatal assault from the early hours of November 19, 2023.
Maxwell had worked as door security at The Last Bank pub in Pontefract town centre. Having finished his shift that night, he then went to Big Fellas nightclub in the town.
Mr Thompson was also at the club, “oblivious” to Maxwell being there.
With the club closing at 4am, the patrons spilled out onto the street. Mr Thompson and his friend began to walk away towards Front Street.
Maxwell was seen having a disagreement with a woman with whom he was in the club. She then began to walk off in the same direction as Mr Thompson.
Maxwell got into a taxi which drove onto Front Street, where he asked the driver to stop.
Maxwell then got out and began shouting at the woman to get into the taxi.
Eventually she did, but at this point, CCTV showed Mr Thompson walking towards the car.
The prosecution said he “seemed” to have witnessed the argument between Maxwell and the woman.
Mr Thompson was shouting, but had his arms by his side.
Maxwell then walked towards Mr Thompson and lashed out, punching him to the head and sending him to the ground.
He tried to get up but was met with three more follow-up punches from Maxwell, the last one sending him back down to the ground.
He struck his head on the asphalt which left him unconscious.
Maxwell then appeared to gesture triumphantly about what he had done, then ran back to the taxi.
Having witnessed the attack, the driver refused to take him, so Maxwell and the woman walked off to get another cab.
Mr Thompson was found by police after he had been run over by the passing Ford Fiesta.
Mr Thompson was taken to Leeds General Infirmary but died 10 days later from a fractured skull and a bleed to the brain.
A postmortem examination found he suffered a broken pelvis caused by the car, but the blow to the head by Maxwell had caused his death.
The driver of the Fiesta was spoken with but no charges brought against them.
Maxwell was arrested two days after the incident.
He was interviewed three times but largely refused to answer police questions.
However, he did tell officers it was in self defence and that he “preempted an assault” from Mr Thompson.
During the trial, prosecutor David Outterside told the jury that it was not self defence “in a million years”.
He added: “They were punches thrown in anger at a drunk man who posed no threat to him and the defendant knew it.
“Luke Thompson had the temerity to challenge him. This was about bravado and ego, not lawful self defence.”
Speaking after the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle, senior investigating officer for West Yorkshire Police said: “First and foremost, my thoughts are with Luke Thompson’s friends and loved ones.
“What started as a normal Saturday night out turned into confrontation, violence and, ultimately, the tragic and unnecessary loss of a young man’s life. I hope today’s verdict brings them some comfort.
“As licensed door staff, Maxwell was trained in conflict management and should have known how to defuse the situation. Instead, he let his anger and his ego take over.”
Source – Yorkshire Evening Post
