Man jailed for 10 years over death of Barnsley holidaymaker
The incident happened in April this year when 43-year-old Gareth Hart was on holiday with his family
A Derbyshire man has been sentenced to ten years in jail after being found guilty of manslaughter.
On the 6th of April 2023, officers attended Sea Lane in Ingoldmells, following a call at 12.57am, reporting an altercation near Fantasy Grill & Balti.
A man, aged 43, was found injured and sadly died shortly afterwards.
That was Gareth Hart, from Barnsley, who was on holiday with his family at the time.
Joseph Allan Malek, aged 33, of Market Place, Belper, was then charged with murder following his death.
Malek was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, and was remanded in custody.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges, leading to a two week long trial at Lincoln Crown Court.
There, the court were shown CCTV images from the takeaway, alongside witness statements and accounts.
The jury then cleared Mr Malek of murder, but found him guilty of manslaughter, and today he was sentenced to ten years in jail. He'll serve a minimum term of 6 years and 8 months behind bars.
DCI Jennifer Lovatt, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit led the investigation. She said:
“Our thoughts are with Mr Hart’s family. The death of Mr Hart has had a devastating impact on his family, I hope that today’s result will bring them some justice.”
“This was a random attack following an argument that got out of hand. The result of this case is a good indication of why nobody should carry a knife. When knives are carried and used, the degree of harm cannot be foreseen and in this case the Mr Hart lost his life.
"Tackling knife crime is one of the Lincolnshire Police’s top priorities because we know the devastating impact a knife can have, and we would call on anyone who thinks about carrying a weapon to take a minute and really consider what will happen to them and anyone they come into contact with if there is a blade between them.”