Single-punch 'coward' jailed for killing man

Michael Johnson admitted manslaughter following the 2022 attack

A single-punch "coward" who was seen celebrating after launching a fatal attack on a man has been jailed.

Trevor Reid, 36, died within an hour of being punched in the head as he left the Gosforth Hotel pub in the early hours of 11 September 2022, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Michael Johnson, 29, of Newcastle, who ambushed Mr Reid after the pair had had an earlier altercation, admitted manslaughter and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison.

Mr Reid's mother said she and her family would "never come to terms with how Trevor was taken in such a mindless and reckless way".

Michael Johnson killed Trevor Reid outside The Gosforth Hotel pub

The court heard Mr Reid had been celebrating his mother's 60th birthday on 10 September when he ended up in the pub on Gosforth High Street.

Johnson, who had been previously been banned from the bar for fighting, was also inside while out celebrating a family birth, prosecutor Emma Dowling said.

Mr Reid was seen walking around talking to people in the pub with one witness saying he was "lonely and looking for someone to talk to", Ms Dowling said.

The first interaction between the men came when Mr Reid accidentally dropped a glass near Johnson, and there then followed an altercation after Mr Reid put his arm around the other man's shoulder, the court heard.

Johnson left the pub but waited outside to "ambush" Mr Reid when he left at about 00:20 BST, Ms Dowling added.

As Mr Reid walked out, Johnson launched a single punch which knocked Mr Reid immediately unconscious causing him to strike his head against a step and suffer a severe brain injury, the court was told.

While other pubgoers fought in vain to resuscitate Mr Reid, who was pronounced dead at 01:00, Johnson was seen walking away shaking hands with friends and being patted on the back, Ms Dowling said.

'No chance'

In a statement read to the court, Mr Reid's mother, Sharon, said she would never be able to celebrate her birthday again and the family was devastated by her son's death.

She said he was a "big, happy, loving man" who was killed in a "completely senseless attack".

"He did not have the opportunity to defend himself as the coward that punched him did so in a calculated way," Ms Reid said, adding she wanted Johnson to "feel pain like the pain he has inflicted" on her and her family.

In mitigation, Brian Hegarty said father-of-two Johnson, who got married a week before the sentencing, was "deeply sorry and remorseful" and wanted to apologise to Mr Reid's family.

Judge Paul Sloan KC said Johnson, of Rydal Close, Gosforth, had been previously reprimanded for common assault and convicted of theft, criminal damage and drink driving.

He said Johnson "deliberately" took Mr Reid "by surprise" with a "full force punch to the face", with the victim having "absolutely no chance to defend himself".

The judge said Johnson then "simply walked away" and offered no assistance to the "dying" Mr Reid, leaving "others to deal with the aftermath".