A pub landlord accused of attempted GBH and dangerous driving after he was attacked outside his premises in Eccles, Salford, has been acquitted on all charges.
Paul Quinn, 49, was arrested and charged with the two offences after he bumped a man with his car who had threatened to shoot him at The Town Hall Hotel on Church Street on 28 June 2014.
In a two-day trial, which ended on Wednesday 14 October 2015, the count of dangerous driving was quashed by the judge while a jury found Mr Quinn not guilty of attempted GBH.
But police admitted during the trial that CCTV which would have cleared Mr Quinn had been destroyed.
The officer in charge of the case said on the witness stand the footage had been removed in order to “de-clutter” their evidence store.
The case against Mr Quinn collapsed when he was able to provide his own copy of CCTV to the court, bringing in his own IT expert to show the video to the jury.
Manchester Crown Court heard that the alleged victim had started trouble in the pub that night after he wrongly thought one of the pub customers had stolen his mobile phone.
Staff on duty became so concerned about the man’s behaviour that they contacted Mr Quinn, who was, at the time, visiting his dying brother in St Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton.
Shortly after, a builder’s van arrived at the scene with three other men, who armed themselves with metal fencing posts.
Brandishing the posts in a threatening manner, they then launched one of the homemade weapons “javelin-style” but Mr Quinn was able to defend himself using a bar stool.
CCTV showed the four men making “gun gestures” in the aftermath of the attack with witnesses reporting them threatening to “machine-pistol the pub”.
But after disarming the men Mr Quinn was himself arrested and held for 18 hours by police, denying him time with his brother, who sadly passed away while he was being interviewed.
Salford City Council CCTV – which was played to the jury several times – showed Mr Quinn walking to his black Range Rover before being approached by his assailant, who pulled an object from his waistband and pointed it at Mr Quinn.
Fearing he would be shot, Mr Quinn ducked down, and lost control of the 4X4, knocking one of the men to the ground.
He suffered only minor cuts and bruises and made no complaint to police.
The issue for Greater Manchester Police was whether Mr Quinn had chased the assailant in his car, having lost his temper, and deliberately struck the man “intending to cause him serious harm”.
The jury, having studied the CCTV evidence, decided that he did not.
During the case, Judge Shaw made several references to Mr Quinn’s good character, commending him on the way he ran his pubs and stressing what a difficult job it is to be a landlord.
This was in stark contrast to the alleged victim, whose criminal record was extensive, and whose behaviour during the incident was described by the judge as “appalling”.
The verdict to acquit on all charges was described by Judge Shaw as “a perfectly sensible one” based on the evidence heard.
A relieved Mr Quinn described the events of that night as “awful” and “very frightening”, and praised the judge for the professional and impartial way the trial was conducted.
In a statement the force told SalfordOnline.com: “Greater Manchester Police acknowledge that this evidence should not have been destroyed and that it should have been used as part of the active criminal proceedings.
“GMP is in the process of acquiring a new computer system which will replace and significantly update the current property management system and will also reduce the risk of errors leading to the accidental destruction of property.
“Until the new system is rolled out, some temporary safeguards in relation to the handling and disposal of police retained property have been introduced, as well as the commissioning of upgrades to our existing IT systems.”
The Quinns closed The Town Hall Hotel in summer 2014 and the pub was sold to new owners at auction.
Reporting/photography by Albert@itookyourpic.com
