JURORS in the trial of two men accused of attacking an older man outside a St Helier pub retired last night to consider their verdict.
Kenneth Skinner (24) and Sean Downey (22) are accused of grave and criminal assault against another customer at the Oxford pub in New Street in October 2023.
Mr Downey and Mr Skinner are said to have punched him to the ground and kicked him when he lay there unconscious.
He suffered a head injury, and an X-ray later showed he had also sustained a hairline fracture in his leg. He says he has been unable to place weight on it since.
Mr Downey admits common assault but denies grave and criminal assault. Mr Skinner has pleaded not guilty, saying he was acting in Mr Downey’s defence when the older man attacked his friend.
The jury of six men and six women heard the closing speeches of the advocates yesterday.
Mr Skinner had been ejected from the pub earlier that evening after a dispute about payment for drinks.
Crown Advocate Paul Lee, prosecuting, said the pair went back to the pub looking for a fight.
He quoted a comment from the pub landlord, who said: “If they had gone home to watch Coronation Street none of us would be here.”
Advocate Lee said Mr Downey and Mr Skinner had both punched the alleged victim and Mr Downey had kicked him.
The pair had spoken briefly on the phone before the incident, but Advocate Greg Herold-Howes, defending Mr Downey, pointed out that there was no evidence they had come up with “a grand plan to cause trouble during the space of a two-minute phone call”.
He said: “The prosecution want you to assume they made a criminal agreement. But assumption is not evidence.”
Advocate Olaf Blakeley, defending Mr Skinner, said the alleged victim had admitted that the two accused were walking away from the pub when he approached them and attacked Mr Downey.
Advocate Blakeley also argued that there was no proof the pair had planned a fight.
He said: “What evidence is there about what took place during that phone conversation? The prosecution have produced nothing.”
Deputy Bailiff Robert MacRae is presiding.
