Father and sons stormed into McDonald’s and knocked manager unconscious in row over burger
A misbehaving ‘hooligan’ father has been jailed after storming a McDonald’s branch with his sons and beating the manager unconscious during a row over a burger.
Huw Jones, his adult sons Sam Jones and Kiayer Jones and son-in-law Thomas Hamilton have been told by a judge that they should be “utterly ashamed” of their behaviour.
Swansea Crown Court heard how a brawl broke out at a McDonald’s branch in Baglan, Wales, in November last year, leaving the manager with head injuries and bleeding.
Hamilton and his sister-in-law came to the fast food restaurant to complain about a hamburger delivery. During the trial, he became angry, pushed and punched a manager.
Eventually he left while his sister-in-law called her father Huw Jones and told him how Hamilton was being ‘mistreated’.
Huw Jones, 54, has been sentenced to a year in prison for his role in a ‘hooligan’ fight at a McDonald’s
McDonald’s store manager left unconscious after ‘dirty’ incident in Baglan, Wales
Jones, shirtless, later “marched” into the McDonald’s, yelling and cursing at the managers and demanding they come outside to fight him, WalesOnline reported.
Then Hamilton and Jones’ two sons, Sam and Kiayer, joined him. They too had received phone calls.
They are said to have run behind a counter, smashed a cash register and thrown a wet floor warning sign as bags of food were waiting to be delivered.
Jones, 54, was accused of picking up a stool and throwing it at one of the managers, hitting him in the head before kicking the victim to the ground.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, many young customers fled in fear of the violence, while younger staff members climbed through windows to escape.
The attackers then fled, leaving the McDonald’s branch closed and the manager, who occasionally lost consciousness, taken to hospital.
The court was told that the damage to McDonald’s was estimated at £5,799.
Huw Jones and his two sons, as well as Hamilton, have all previously pleaded guilty to affray.
The father also admitted to assault causing bodily harm and had twelve previous convictions for sixteen crimes, including violent crimes. The other three suspects had no previous convictions.
James Hartson, Huw Jones’ lawyer, told the court the father “reacted badly to a panicked phone call” and then “jumped to conclusions about events he had not even seen”.
Ian Ibrahim, representing Hamilton, said his client accepted how “ridiculous” the row over a burger would sound – and that the violent reaction occurred for an “incomprehensible reason”.
Judge Ben Blakemore, sentencing the four offenders, said they should be “utterly ashamed” of the “particularly unpleasant” incident.
He said, ‘The four of you went completely crazy in a hooligan way. I reminded myself that this was all because of a burger order.’
He sentenced Huw Jones to 12 months in prison, while the other defendants were given 12 months in prison (18 months suspended) and ordered to attend rehabilitation courses.
Hamilton was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community service, including 180 hours for Sam and Kiayer Jones. The trio must also pay £600 compensation to McDonald’s.