A McDonald’s manager was knocked to the ground by a family who went ‘wild’ in a fight over a burger, a court heard.
Fists, trays, stools and bags of food flew around the restaurant after the Jones family ‘attacked’ the takeaway, with some young members of staff forced to escape through the drive-thru window.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court told Huw Jones, his adult sons Sam Jones and Kiayer Jones and son-in-law Thomas Hamilton had behaved like “hooligans” and said the four should be “utterly ashamed” of their behaviour.
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Prosecutor Tom Scapens said the incident happened at the McDonald’s in Baglan, South Wales, on the evening of Saturday, November 4 last year, when the restaurant was full of customers, including many children. He said the incident began when Thomas Hamilton and his sister-in-law came to the restaurant to complain about a burger order that had been delivered.
The court heard that Hamilton was angry and aggressive and when his brother-in-law tried to calm him down he pushed him aside. Hamilton was asked to leave but pushed and punched a manager and a violent scuffle followed, with two managers struggling with the defendant and trying to throw him out. Hamilton eventually left and his brother-in-law later called his father, Huw Jones, to say Hamilton had been “beaten up”.
The court heard that a shirtless Jones arrived at the restaurant in his minibus a short time later and “walked” inside. He then began shouting and swearing at the managers, threatening them and telling them to come out and fight him. This continued for several minutes until he returned to the car park to join Hamilton and his two sons, Sam and Kiayer, who had been called to the burger joint by phone.
The court heard that the four men then burst into the McDonald’s, smashing behind the counter, smashing a till and curtain, and throwing metal trays, a wet floor warning sign and bags of food waiting to be delivered. Huw Jones then picked up a stool with a heavy metal base and foot and threw it at one of the managers. The stool hit his target in the head and the manager fell to the ground and was kicked several times, but it is not known which defendant or defendants struck him. The prosecutor said that during the “mayhem”, young people in the restaurant fled in fear and a number of young staff hid while others climbed out of the drive-thru window of the building.
The brawlers eventually stormed out of the restaurant, got into their car and drove away. The restaurant was closed and the injured manager, who was dazed, unconscious and bleeding from a head wound, was taken to hospital. The court heard that McDonald’s costs from the incident, including the damage caused and having to close the business for a period of time, were £5,799.
Huw Jones, 54, of Wharf Road, Briton Ferry, Thomas Hamilton, 20, of Windsor Road, Chester, Sam Jones, 25, of Lilian Street, Port Talbot, and Kiayer Jones, 27, of Giants Wharf, Briton Ferry, were all previously found guilty of affray when they appeared in court for sentencing. Huw Jones was also previously found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has 12 previous convictions for 16 offences, including “some old-fashioned” violence. None of the other defendants have previous convictions.
James Hartson, speaking for Huw Jones, said the defendant had “reacted badly to a panicked phone call” and had “rushed into events he had not witnessed”. He said Jones had been involved in a local boxing gym for many years which had been “just a force for good” in the community and that he was ashamed and remorseful for his actions. He added that on the day in question the defendant had visited his deceased wife’s grave and that the loss of his partner of more than 30 years about six months earlier had exacerbated Jones’ long-standing anxiety and depression.
Ian Ibrahim, speaking for Hamilton, said it was accepted that the incident had arisen from a complaint about a burger and that the defendant had now realised how “ridiculous” it had become. He said it was accepted that the complaint had escalated into violence for “an incomprehensible reason” and that his client had been the “catalyst” of what had happened. He said the defendant was one of 13 siblings born to parents from Cheshire who had married into the Briton Ferry family about 10 months ago. The barrister added that Hamilton had left school at the age of 11 and was illiterate and that when he asked the defendant if he had written to the judge he had been told that if he could he would have.
David Singh, speaking for Sam Jones, said his client was at his sister’s house when he heard news his brother-in-law had been “beaten up” and decided to go to McDonald’s with his brother Kiayer. He said when the couple arrived they saw their shirtless father Huw “Pappy” Jones in the car park and “mistakenly believed” something had happened. The barrister said his client had young children and a successful roofing business and was “bitterly remorseful” for his involvement in the offence. Ryan Bowen, speaking for Kiayer Jones, said he accepted there was no excuse for his behaviour on the day in question. He said the defendant was a father of five who was due to have a sixth child in December and was ashamed of his behaviour at McDonald’s.
The registrar, Ben Blakemore, told the four defendants they should be “utterly ashamed” of their roles in what he called a “particularly unpleasant” incident. He said Hamilton had been “looking for something to argue about” with the shop manager and Hamilton had started the conversation before Huw Jones “came in” and was “nasty, foul-mouthed, offensive and aggressive” and intended to fight. He said the two boys with Jones then “joined in enthusiastically” and the four men ran towards the counter, throwing objects and punches. The registrar said: “You four went on a hooligan rampage. I reminded myself it was over a burger order.”
Huw Jones was sentenced to 12 months in prison, with a one-third reduction for his guilty plea – half of which he will serve in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The other defendants, with a one-third reduction for his guilty plea, were each given 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete rehabilitation courses and observe electronically monitored night curfews for the next four months.
They were also ordered to carry out unpaid work in the community, with Hamilton carrying out 200 hours and the Joneses carrying out 180 hours each. Each of the three defendants, who received a suspended sentence, will also have to pay £600 compensation to McDonald’s. Recorder Blakemore told the trio that they had come very close to following their father to prison and had warned them that if they did not breach their suspended sentence and take the opportunity given to them by the court, they would follow him.