A teenager who “celebrated” after fatally punching a “superb soldier” has been detained for six years.
Mason Ibbotson, 18, from Blyth, punched Corporal Shaun Roberts, 35, from Oakham, outside Dejavu nightclub in Blyth on October 6.
The father-of-four was out with three colleagues after attending a training course in the town on October 5.
Just after 3am on October 6, the soldiers left the Dejavu nightclub and planned to get a taxi back to the barracks at Otterburn when Ibbotson and his gang confronted them, prosecutor Jessica Slaughter said.
The gang targeted the soldiers because they were “not from the area”, Ms Slaughter said, before trained boxer Ibbotson repeatedly punched one of Cpl Roberts’ colleagues.
Cpl Roberts, a sniper in the Royal Anglian Regiment, who the court heard had his arms by his side, was then suddenly punched by Ibbotson. The soldier collpased to the ground unconscious.
As Cpl Roberts’ colleagues tried to treat him, Ibbotson celebrated with his arms aloft, Ms Slaughter added.
Cpl Roberts’ wife said the family had been devastated by his death, in a statement read to the court.
She said her husband, who died in hospital on November 1, was the “most selfless” person she ever knew. She added that the weeks spent by his bedside were “mental torture”.
“We had to watch as his body slowly shut down and the strong man we know was still trying to fight to be with us,” she said.
Brig Guy Foden said he was a “super soldier” and in a “remarkable company stood out at the top”, adding he was a “master of his profession” and an “exemplar of the Royal Anglian”.
Judge Nathan Adams said it was an “absolute tragedy” which demonstrated “the dangers of fighting in drink”. He added that Ibbotson had “destroyed” the lives of Cpl Roberts’ family.
