Delton Jones formed part of a ‘pack of animals’ who left their victim fighting for his life in Liverpool City Centre
Delton Jones(Image: Merseyside Police )
A thug who fled to Spain after he and his friends “behaved like a pack of animals” and left a boxer fighting for his life outside McDonald’s is a convicted killer, the ECHO can reveal. Anthony Dodson was left with life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed in the heart after fighting broke out in a Liverpool city centre nightclub and spilled out into the street.
While six men and a 17-year-old boy were previously locked up for a combined total of more than 50 years in connection with the incident, Delton Jones remained at large for nearly a year before finally being apprehended on the continent. It came after others who became embroiled in the vicious incident burned their designer clothing in a park and attempted to abscond to France as illegal stowaways on a lorry in the aftermath of the near fatal assault.
Jones yesterday narrowly avoided being handed a life sentence for his latest crimes, having previously been jailed for manslaughter as a teenager. He was said to have brutally stamped on a vulnerable drug user’s head in order to “teach him a lesson” after he injected a quantity of heroin which he had been given to sell.
Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Thursday, that Jones was “involved in violence both inside and outside” the Safehouse bar on Victoria Street in the early hours of December 27 2023, being seen “aiming hard punches” towards another victim, Kia Robinson. This was said to have “floored him” but the 28-year-old defendant, of Orry Street in Vauxhall, continued to attack him on the ground.
Steven Ball, prosecuting, described how Jones was then seen in a confrontation with Mr Dodson, who he punched and headbutted before being ejected from the premises. Outside, he was seen forming part of a chasing pack which tailed the rival group.
Jones went on to throw further punches at Mr Dodson, who was separated from his friends and surrounded by the assailants. He and two of his co-defendants, Milne Critchley and a then 16-year-old boy, were said to have been “close to the complainant and throwing punches” at this time, with accomplices Cameron Quinn and George Miller being “close by”.
Mr Ball added: “During this altercation, Anthony Dodson is stabbed twice in the chest and he collapses nearby outside McDonald’s with what the court will recall was a grave injury. His life was saved by the quick actions of police and paramedics, and the critical care he received at hospital. He still has impaired function, so far as his heart is concerned.”
Having been identified as a suspect within days of the incident, Merseyside Police discovered Jones had already left the country. However, he was ultimately arrested in Marbella on December 20 2024 before being extradited back to the UK in May this year.
Jones was convicted of manslaughter in 2017 and locked up for eight years, subsequently being released from this sentence on licence during 2021. The ECHO previously reported that, aged 19, the drug dealer repeatedly stamped on the head and chest of heroin runner Jonathan Povey, who died at the age of 47 as a result of his injuries.
The attack was said to have concerned the victim being short on money which he had been tasked with returning to Jones after the two men had travelled from Merseyside to Exeter in order to sell to users. This involved the latter holding the drugs and giving his underling deals in batches to supply on the streets.
Jones himself had been instructed to work in the supply of illicit substances in the south of England by a gang due to him owing a debt of just under £800. He was then sucked further into the enterprise after being arrested in possession of £510 of heroin and crack cocaine, as well as £225, in December of 2016.
But, having learned that Mr Povey had consumed some of the heroin he was supposed to be selling, Jones launched into a savage assault, which left the other man with nine broken ribs. He eventually collapsed with chest pains and breathing difficulties around 12 hours later and subsequently died in hospital.
Jones’ counsel later said in mitigation during his sentencing hearing that the violence was “spontaneous and not premeditated” A judge meanwhile told him that he had attacked Mr Povey “without provocation” in order to “teach him a lesson”.
Julian Nutter, defending Jones, told the court during his latest appearance: “I know your honour will bear in mind his age and how he has spent a substantial period in custody, which he deserved, before all of this. He remains adamant that he did not have a knife. He admits this offences on a joint enterprise basis.
“There is another side to him. He now realises that he was destroying his life and that of his dependant children. There are two of them, and they are very young. He has now resolved to reform, and he is struggling in the prison system with just that.
“Remorse, of course, is the first step to reform. He is on the right road and heading in the right direction. It is his intention never to trouble the courts again.”
Jones admitted wounding with intent and violent disorder. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for nine years and handed an additional five years on licence.
Sentencing, Judge Stuart Driver KC said: “A punch thrown by one of your friends sparked group violence in which the victims were struck with bottles, kicked and threatened with knives. You role was to punch one, then move to another man and punch and butt him.
“You joined a large group which pursued the victims as they backed away. A witness described you and your friends behaviour like a pack of animals. Nobody would disagree.
“Missiles were thrown. Anthony Dodson became separated and alone. You and others surrounded him. You threw punches which landed on him. Others also punched and kicked him. Somebody in the group stabbed him twice in the chest, causing life threatening injuries.
“When he collapsed in the street, he was reached by the emergency services almost immediately, otherwise it is almost certain that he would have died. The functioning of his heart remains impaired.
“It was a group attack, fuelled by alcohol and cocaine. You soon fled the country to avoid arrest and were returned by extradition proceedings. Your claims today that you are remorseful are undermined by your behaviour.
“The most serious aggravating feature is your previous conviction for manslaughter, and the fact that you were on licence for that when you committed these offences. In mitigation, you did not stab the victim yourself or have a knife at the time. You are making progress in custody.
“I must distinguish you in this case. Your case is significantly more serious than the others, because they were under 21 at the time in question. You were in your mid 20s. They had no previous convictions for violence, and they were not on licence at the time of this offence.
“I must consider whether you are a dangerous offending. I have no hesitation in agreeing with the conclusion of the pre-sentence report, that you pose a high risk of serious harm to the public by the commission of further specified offences. You are a dangerous offending.
“I have to consider whether the offences justice imprisonment for life. Bearing in mind that you were not in possession of a weapon and did not inflict the wounds yourself, the fact full only just short of that.”
Critchley, of Sprucewood Close in Anfield, was previously found guilty of wounding with intent following a trial before the same court in summer last year, having admitted violent disorder. Groans were heard in the public gallery and one woman left the courtroom in tears as the 21-year-old was jailed for 10 years in September 2024, a term of which he must serve two thirds behind bars before becoming eligible for release.
Adam Draper, of St David’s Road in Huyton, was convicted of unlawful wounding by a jury. The 21-year-old was handed four years and will be subject to a two-year serious violence reduction order upon his release.
Miller, of no fixed address, admitted violent disorder but was found guilty of wounding with intent. Further groans were heard in court as the 20-year-old was locked up for 10 years, of which he must serve at least two thirds in custody.
Quinn, of Swanside Avenue in Huyton, was convicted of two counts of wounding with intent, having pleaded guilty to violent disorder. The 21-year-old stood with his arms folded in the dock then shrugged as he was imprisoned for 12 years, of which he must serve two thirds, while a co-defendant patted him on the back.
Jordan Kinsella, of Harrogate Drive in Everton, was found guilty of unlawful wounding, having admitted violent disorder. The 29-year-old nodded as he was jailed for four years.
Lee Duffy, of Whitefield Way in Everton, was convicted of unlawful wounding, attempted unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place. The 19-year-old also pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was given six years in a young offenders’ institute.
Eugene Mason-Lamb, of Hodder Road in Everton, admitted violent disorder, having been cleared of wounding with intent and unlawful wounding following the trial. Cries of “yes” and clapping were heard from the public gallery as the 30-year-old was handed a 15-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months, 100 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days.
The youth was found guilty of two counts of wounding with intent and admitted violent disorder. He was handed five-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institute.
Mr Dodson is the son of former professional boxer Tony Dodson, who held the British super middleweight title in 2003 and retired in 2016. Anthony Dodson meanwhile won the Merseyside and Cheshire Youth Championship final in 2020 and made it to the quarter finals of the national championship, fighting out of Gemini Boxing Club in Speke.