Thug: Jary attacked Mr McLellan outside a pizza shop in South Shields
A teenage thug killed a loving dad with one-punch near a pizza shop, a court heard.
Connor Jary attacked Calvin McLellan close in South Shields, Tyneside in August 2016, causing him to fall and bang his head and suffer devastating brain injuries.
The 19-year-old, then aged 17, fled the scene but later bragged on Facebook that he’d ‘sent Mr McLellan snoring’, Newcastle Crown Court heard yesterday.
The court previously heard, Jary was on bail at the time of the attack, having broke the jaws of two men because they refused to let him into a house to wash his hands.
Mr McLellan, 30, a dad-of-two from South Shields, suffered catastrophic brain injuries and had to have emergency surgery following the attack.
He spent eight months in a coma fighting for his life Sunderland Royal Hospital, before he died on April 13 last year.
Jary was charged with two counts of grievous bodily harm in relation to the other assaults.
Jary was initially sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution, after pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mr McLellan and breaking the jaws of the other two men from the earlier offence.
Calvin Mclellan, pictured with his daughter Masie-Sue, died in hospital eight months after being attacked by Jary outside the pizza shop
However, earlier this year, he was charged with manslaughter in relation to the attack on Mr McLellan.
An earlier hearing the court heard, after an exchange of words with Mr McLellan, Jary followed him, squared up to him and punched him once.
Jary wrote on facebook after the attack: ‘Dropped some lad with a dig’, ‘he is on the floor snoring (followed by a laughing icon)’, ‘sent him snoring hahaha’ and ‘proper freak mate’.
He initially denied the offence but backtracked at a hearing at the court yesterday, in which he appeared via video link, and changed his plea to guilty..
His barrister, Vic Laffey, said: ‘On the previous occasion, the defendant did enter a not guilty plea on the basis we were awaiting expert evidence.
‘That has been received and, on the back of that, the defendant can be re-arraigned.’
He said: ‘I’m going to adjourn sentence in your case. Sentence is adjourned until Friday, July 27 this year. I’m going to direct you ought to be produced in person at court on that day. ‘I’m directing the preparation of a pre-sentence report. You should understand the fact I’m adjourning sentence and directing the preparation for a pre sentence report, that’s not an indication of sentence that will be imposed by me.
‘I will decide upon sentence once I have considered the relevant material in July. Pending that hearing you will be remanded in custody.’
Jary, of Moreland Road, South Shields, will next appear at Newcastle Crown Court on July 27 for sentence.
During the brief hearing, the charge was once more put to Jary and he entered his guilty plea.
Judge Paul Sloan QC, the Recorder of Newcastle, adjourned sentencing for the preparation of a report.