At the end of the night, a man waiting outside a bar attacked the DJ with a large coffee mug. Ash Gilmore was kicked out of the building before he could grab the cup and return to the bar to look for a member of staff.
A judge told the father-of-five that he hid himself outside the pub “like a thief in the night” before hitting his victim in the face with a mug while in a “drunken stupor”. DJ had a cut above his eye and on his eyelid and was bleeding.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling told Swansea Crown Court that the complainant in the case was DJing at Bar 46 on Bridge Street in Aberystwyth on the night of February 29, 2023, as he had done for several years. Also present at the bar was defendant Gilmore, who was not part of the bar’s “usual student crowd”, he said. He was actually from Birmingham and was working and staying in the town. The court heard the defendant’s behavior began to cause concern and at one point the DJ had to leave the turntables to speak to him because of his behavior towards bar staff. The defendant’s behavior continued to deteriorate and he was escorted out by staff at 11.45pm after becoming involved in a fight with a man in which he grabbed a chair. The court heard Gilmore made threats to staff and tried to re-enter the bar but was prevented and left the bar.
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But about half an hour later, Gilmore, 31, returned to the area with another man and the pair hid behind a car parked in the street outside the bar. The defendant was armed with a large coffee mug. The prosecutor said that a short time later, the DJ left the bar and got into his car. As Gilmore sat in the driver’s seat, an unknown man approached and held the driver’s door to prevent it from closing. The defendant confronted the DJ and demanded to know whether the police were looking for him. DJ said “No”. Gilmore then stabbed his victim’s face with the cup several times, causing a gash above his eye, which immediately began bleeding. The defendant then crashed the cup into the car and drove away.
The injured DJ returned to Bar 46 and police were contacted. The court heard the victim then went to Bronglais Hospital, where a 2cm tear over the eye and eyelid was cleaned and closed. Meanwhile, police were able to track the defendant via security cameras to the hotel where he was staying on South Street. Gilmore was described by police officers as “intoxicated and aggressive.” He was found with some marijuana. In a subsequent interview, Gilmore said he had been drinking and smoking marijuana on the pier with friends before going to Bar 46. He accepted being kicked out of the bar and said he went back to his hotel before returning to the bar. He admitted that he was angry and punched someone he saw leaving the bar.
The victim read a statement to the court detailing the impact of the attack. The DJ said he wondered if he was being attacked because he was transgender. He said the incident destroyed his self-confidence and left him with panic attacks and feeling “stuck in a nightmare”.
Ash Gilmore, of Newhall Road, Rowley Regis, Birmingham, previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous criminal record. For the latest court reports, sign up for our crime newsletter here.
Judge Huw Rees told Gilmore that after he was rightfully kicked out of the pub, he hid behind a car parked in the street “like a thief in the night”, lying in wait for “someone you considered responsible in your drunken stupor”. Because you got fired.” It was clearly stated that the attack that followed caused both physical and psychological injuries to the victim.
The judge said he had read the pre-sentence report against the defendant and accepted that the attack was out of character. He said Gilmore supported the five children and that the children would lose that support and presence if he sent the defendant directly to prison, and said he was prepared to take the “exceptional course of action” to suspend the sentence under all circumstances. . With a one-third reduction due to his guilty plea, Gilmore was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and 180 hours of unpaid work. The defendant was also ordered to pay compensation of £1,740 to his victim. The defendant’s possession of marijuana had previously been dealt with through out-of-court disposal.
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