Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Police name man killed with one punch at bar

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bars/news/article.cfm?c_id=687&objectid=10512558

Police have named the man who died after being floored with a single punch outside a bar on Friday night.
David Keith Mernin, 51, of Pakuranga died after the altercation outside the Heading Home Bar.
A 48-year-old man has been charged with assault.
Police spokeswoman Angeline Barlow said a post mortem examination was carried out this morning and police will decide on further charges after receiving the results.
Police are carrying out inquiries in an attempt to locate and speak to everyone who was in the area of the bar and neighbouring restaurants on Friday evening.
Mr Mernin died in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital 24 hours after being found unconscious outside the bar in Pakuranga.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Man admits his punch killed dad in Gateshead pub

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2008/05/21/man-admits-his-punch-killed-dad-in-gateshead-pub-72703-20942058/


A PUB peacemaker was killed after he was mistaken for an aggressor.
Dad-of-four Steven Johnson, 54, had raised his hand in a bid to quell trouble in a Gateshead pub.
But Kelvin Davies mistook the gesture for a threatening one and punched him unconscious.
Mr Johnson, from Teams, Gateshead, died nine months later of his injuries and yesterday Davies pleaded guilty to his manslaughter.
Paul Sloan QC, for Davies, said: “The defendant accepts, whether rightly or wrongly, he believed force might be about to be used against him.
“But he accepts the punch he delivered was excessive in all the circumstances.”
Davies attacked Mr Johnson in The Trafalgar in Gateshead on January 28 last year.
The Federation Brewery caretaker was in a coma for nine months and died in hospital.
Tim Parkin, prosecuting, said: “Perhaps in the deceased was seen in the circumstances to be a peacemaker but nonetheless, a hand raised can be misunderstood.”
The case was not fully opened and sentencing was adjourned for pre-sentence reports to be compiled.
Judge Esmond Faulks told Davies: “You have pleaded guilty to this serious charge.
“You will get credit for the guilty plea in due course when it comes to sentence.
“I’m not going to sentence you today because I would like to know a bit more about your background and the circumstances.”
Davies, 26, of Oak Square, Teams, Gateshead was given conditional bail until the week beginning June 30.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Pro Surfer’s Death Exposes Beach Town’s Violent Side

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/us/12surfer.html?_r=1

The authorities say the shirtless man was Eric House, 21, with whom Mr. Kauanui had been drinking at the La Jolla Brew House, a nearby bar. It was there that Mr. House may or may not have flirted with Mr. Kauanui’s girlfriend, according to the police, and there that Mr. Kauanui may or may not have intentionally spilled a drink on Mr. House. Witness accounts are contradictory.

What seems beyond dispute is that a security guard at the bar asked Mr. Kauanui to leave and that Mr. House and four others — Mr. Cravens; Orlando Osuna, 23; Matthew Yanke, 21; and Henri Hendricks, 22 — later drove to Mr. Kauanui’s home, prosecutors say to retaliate against him.

Mr. Kauanui’s head “buckled up and down like a bobblehead doll” during the fight, Mr. Hendricks told the police. When Mr. Kauanui fell back onto the sidewalk, his head landed on the concrete with what Mr. Cravens described to the police as “a loud thud.”

Saturday, May 3, 2008

One Punch Can Kill

http://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/personalSafety/situationalAdvice/onePunch.htm

The One Punch Can Kill campaign is aimed at preventing senseless violence among young people, and about stopping them from making split-second decisions that could ruin their lives or the lives of others.
It targets ‘Generation Y’ using modern media and technology, and informs today’s youth that acts of violence can have very serious and damaging consequences.
Research shows young men between the age of 15 and 25 are the most likely to be assault victims or offenders.
One Punch Can Kill is the result of recommendations from the Government’s Youth Violence Task Force, which called for a targeted media strategy to send home the message of anti-violence.
The slogan ‘One Punch Can Kill’ is a reminder of the shocking reality that simple acts of violence can have tragic consequences.