Family's fury as son's murderer released after just 12 months in jail

Family’s fury as man who stamped on teenager’s head and kicked him in fatal attack is released after just 12 months behind bars

  • Connor Brown was aged 18 when he was killed trying to protect others last year 
  • Ally Gordon, 20, found guilty of manslaughter and possessing a bladed weapon
  • He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years but has been released on licence
  • Leighton Barrass, 21, was found guilty of murder and has been jailed for life

A man who stamped on a teenager’s head and kicked him in a fatal attack has been released after just 12 months behind bars.

Aspiring boxer Connor Brown was just 18 when he was killed in February last year while trying to protect others in an alley behind The Borough pub in Sunderland.

Ally Gordon, 20, was found guilty of manslaughter and possessing a bladed weapon in relation to the attack after stamping on Mr Brown’s head and kicking him.

Gordon was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in a Young Offender Institution at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2019, but has now been released on licence – with Mr Brown’s family describing it as a ‘kick in the guts’.

Aspiring boxer Connor Brown (pictured) was just 18 when he was killed in February last year while trying to protect others in an alley behind The Borough pub in Sunderland


Ally Gordon (left), 20, was found guilty of manslaughter and possessing a bladed weapon. He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years but has been released on licence. Leighton Barrass (right), 21, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 20 years 

Leighton Barrass, who had pulled out a knife in an argument over two five pound notes, was found guilty of murder after stabbing Mr Brown five times.

Barrass, 21, was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 20 years. 

Gordon’s release, halfway through his sentence, takes into account the time he spent remanded in custody before the trial.

Mr Brown’s father, Simon, said: ‘It’s a kick in the guts, because we are only 12 months from when we were in court.

‘We knew it was coming but when we got the call yesterday it was properly gut-wrenching.’

Simon said the sentence, which lawyers attempted to challenge earlier this year, was a let down for his family. 

Mr Brown’s parents, Simon and Tanya, pictured with his sister Ellen (centre). The family have described Gordon’s release on licence as a ‘kick in the guts’

Mr Brown, who was murdered on February 24 last year, pictured. His father said Gordon’s sentence, which lawyers attempted to challenge earlier this year, was a let down for his family

The Court of Appeal heard arguments that Gordon’s three-and-a-half-year prison sentence was unduly lenient, but appeal judges upheld the sentence, to the family’s horror.

Simon added: ‘So many people feel let down by the system nowadays. Things like this happen so often that you just almost can’t believe it.’

Simon and Mr Brown’s mother, Tanya, are planning to launch the Connor Brown Trust next year, with a focus on preventing knife crime and helping disadvantaged young people.

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