Spaniard gets three years after Scot’s fatal fall

A MAN accused of pushing a Scots holidaymaker to his death during an anti-British attack in a Spanish village has been sentenced to three years in jail.

Jose Ivan Jimenez Martin was spared a 15-year sentence. Picture: TSPL

Jose Ivan Jimenez Martin, 28, was spared the possibility of a 15-year jail sentence after being cleared of the more serious charge of homicide.

He was instead convicted of father-of-three Stephen Mallon’s manslaughter after a judge ruled he had provoked the holidaymaker’s fall from a 13ft ledge during a mass attack by a gang of Spaniards armed with weapons.

Mr Mallon, 49, a roofer from Glasgow who lived in Bournemouth, died in hospital 11 days after suffering severe head injuries in the 6 June 2009 fall in Competa, near Malaga, where he owned a holiday home.

Sons Peter and Carl, 16 at the time, suffered broken bones after being punched and attacked with a metal pole and were left with post-traumatic stress caused by their ordeal.

Another two men were found guilty of assault with dangerous weapons in a 31-page written document released by Malaga’s criminal court yesterday.

Luis Felipe Romero Allsop, convicted of hitting Carl Mallon with a metal bar and fracturing his right hand, was sentenced to two years in prison. Juan Ortega Gonzalez, who prosecution lawyers wanted jailed for five years for smashing a bottle over Mr Mallon’s head, also received a two-year jail sentence.

The pair may escape going to jail because in Spain prison sentences of two years or less are normally suspended for first-time offenders who pay compensation orders linked to their convictions.

Ten of the 12 other defendants tried last month over the violence that led to Mr Mallon’s death were fined after being convicted of affray. Two were cleared.

Stephen’s widow, Teresa, 47, heavily criticised the sentences.

She said: “They’re disgusting to be honest. We will be reviewing the sentencing document to see where we go from here.”

Fifteen Spanish men took the witness stand as defendants in a five-day trial which finished on 26 May.

Giving evidence, Mr Mallon’s sons said they were attacked by up to 40 men armed with coshes, knuckledusters, bottles and iron bars outside a disco-bar because they were British.

The defendants denied the claims and insisted they acted in self-defence after the Scots father started attacking them.

Some witnesses said the trouble kicked off over a girl who used to date one of the accused.

Martin, accused of wilfully killing Mr Mallon, insisted when he took the witness stand he had only moved his arms about trying to defend himself after the Scot punched him.

Lead judge Andres Rodero, one of three who presided over the trial, concluded: “We believe there is sufficient proof in relation to the origin of the fall, in the sense that it was provoked by the accused and not the result of a simple loss of balance.”

The sentencing judges also ordered him to compensate Mr Mallon’s hairdresser widow with £96,000 and his three children with £72,000 each.