Sickening footage shows the moment a surly teenager killed an 82-year-old army veteran with a single punch after he was reprimanded for causing trouble at a Derby bus station.
Omar Moumeche, who was 16 at the time, attacked lover Dennis Clarke at Derby bus station after telling his friends they were messing around on an escalator.
The pensioner was on his way home from a day of shopping when he suffered a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage and died at the Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham, nine days after the attack on May 6, 2021.
Moumeche, now 18, was found guilty of manslaughter in July and was today sentenced to two years’ youth detention at Derby Crown Court.
Police have released shocking footage of the attack, which shows Clarke surrounded by a group of teenagers he had previously challenged at The Eagle Market.
Omar Moumeche, who was 16 at the time, attacked Dennis Clarke at Derby bus station after telling his friends they were messing around on an escalator (pictured: CCTV captured the teenagers following Mr Clarke to the bus station)
Moumeche (pictured), now 18, was found guilty of manslaughter in July and was today sentenced to two years’ youth detention at Derby Crown Court.
Pensioner Dennis Clarke (pictured), 82, suffered a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage and died in hospital nine days after the attack on May 6, 2021.
The former soldier, who served in Singapore, was then followed to Derby bus station where he was brutally beaten to the ground.
Moumeche fled the bus station but was arrested within minutes.
Mr Clarke’s “devastating” death will take his family many years to come to terms with it, his cousin Ricky Darvey told the sentencing hearing in a victim impact statement. Mirror reports.
He said: ‘His death has left a hole in the lives of the whole family and we have just been left with a feeling of emptiness.
“There will forever be an empty chair at Christmas and an empty spot on the dance floor.”
He also talked about how his uncle loved fishing, was a devout Christian and “in love with his family.”
Detective Inspector Mark Shaw said: ‘Our investigation was aided by the capture of CCTV footage and many witness statements, all of which were presented at the trial.
‘The defendant claimed he acted in self-defence, and the jury refused to accept his version of events based on the required balance and high threshold.
The ‘devastating’ death of Mr Clarke (pictured) will take his family many years to come to terms with, his cousin Ricky Darvey told the sentencing hearing in a victim impact statement
“Dennis was a well-known and beloved friend and family member.
The family of ‘Dennis’ were present during the hearings and acted with absolute dignity, both during the trial and at the time of the guilty verdict, and I thank them for that.
“The tragic events of that day have had a devastating effect on both Mr Clarke’s families and the defendant himself.
“Mr Moumeche’s actions at that time will have lasting consequences, both in the short term as he serves his custodial sentence, and in the longer term as he seeks to move forward.
‘I hope this case will show how important it is to pause and take a moment before anything is resolved, and prevent us from returning to the level of violence and consequences we are seeing here .
‘I would like to express my thanks to Mr Clarke’s family for the dignity shown throughout the criminal proceedings and I hope they can look forward and now focus on their fond memories of Dennis.’
Andrew Baxter, from the CPS, said: ‘The tragic death of Dennis Clarke was the result of the intimidating and aggressive behavior of this young man, who refused to back down and did not know when to walk away.
The former soldier, who served in Singapore, was then followed to Derby bus station where he was brutally beaten to the ground.
CCTV footage captured Mr Clarke (left) being pushed by the teenagers at Derby bus station
‘Mr Clarke was within his rights to challenge the behavior and subsequently went about his business assuming the incident had been resolved.
‘Moumeche chose to confront him at the bus station, behaving in an aggressive and intimidating manner towards a man in his eighties who posed no threat.
“He then delivered a blow that led to the death of an elderly and innocent man, and a family grieving a much-loved family member and respected member of the community.
‘I would like to extend my sincere condolences to everyone close to Dennis Clarke for their loss.’
Judge Shaun Smith KC to Moumeche: ‘You could have run away, but you decided to join in and shortly before throwing the punch, an 82-year-old man was surrounded by three youths and you hit him with a deliberate blow.’
No further action was taken against two other teenage boys arrested at the time in connection with the attack.