Actor Stephen Tompkinson breathes sigh of relief as he's found not guilty of GBH
Actor Stephen Tompkinson has been found not guilty in his grievous bodily harm trial.
There was a sigh of relief from Stephen in the dock as the judge Paul Sloan thanked the jury. Victim Karl Poole showed no emotion in the public gallery as the actor walked out of court. The jury took less than two hours to return their verdict.
Karl Poole said he was disappointed with the verdict. He said: “It is a bit of a shock to be honest.
“My initial reaction is that is is disappointing.
“I feel it is the wrong verdict.
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“I am still not quite right in terms of my health.
And when asked for his reaction when leaving court, Mr Tompkinson said: “I just want to go home.”
The DCI Banks star, 57, stood trial accused of of punching Karl Poole to the ground who was drunkenly making noise outside his home in the early hours of May 30 2021, leaving him with traumatic brain injuries.
Stephen Tompkinson arrives at Newcastle Crown Court on May 10 for his trial (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
Tompkinson is known for his lead role in DCI Banks (©Justin Slee)The DCI Banks and Ballykissangel actor had consistently denied punching Karl Poole, 48, in an early morning row two years ago.
Today, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court has found Tompkinson not guilty of assault causing grievous bodily harm, after a trial which began on May 3.
Tompkinson denied the charge, telling the court he did not punch Mr Poole and was “not responsible” for the double skull fracture he sustained when his head hit the pavement.
He said he put his hand out to stop Mr Poole coming towards him and made contact with his face but that it “wasn’t enough to knock a sober man off his feet”.
While on the stand Tompkinson, who has appeared in Balykissangel, Wild at Heart and Drop the Dead Donkey, said it would be ”career suicide to do something as outrageous as assault someone.”
Poole and his pal Andrew Hall were said to be in a drunken state lying on the pavement outside the property in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, with Poole dressed only in his underpants and socks after a dawn dip in the North Sea, when Tompkinson went over to them at around 5.30am.
Tompkinson, who was living with his girlfriend and her seven-year-old child, said that after telling the pair he had called the police, it became a ”very frightening situation.”
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A court sketch of Tompkinson on the stand (PA)Tompkinson said the men got to their feet, unsteadily, and started to move towards him.
He told the court he put his hands on Mr Hall and “guided” him to the ground, then saw Mr Poole coming towards him.
The DCI Banks actor said: “I didn’t want to hurt him, I wanted to stop him to change his mind about coming towards me and further onto my property.”
Tompkinson said as he went to make a ‘stop’ motion, his hand connected with the left side of Mr Poole’s face and that he went to the floor because of his “unsteadiness”.
He told how he had missed out on parts and been unable to work as he waited two years for the case to come to court.
Karle Poole said he had no memory of the incident on May 30, 2021 (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)Mr Poole told the court he had “absolutely zero” memory of that night when giving evidence.
Prosecuting, Michael Bunch, said the ”claim of aggressive behaviour by the two men is simply not supported by any of the evidence in the case.”
He added: ”The truth is that the defendant’s story is nothing more than a weak attempt by him to deflect blame onto others for what were his wholly unjustified aggressive actions.”
He claimed Tompkinson had ”elaborated on his story as time has gone on”.
Mr Bunch said that after Mr Poole had ”gone to the floor”, the defendant filmed the pair on his phone, but did not contact the emergency services, with a neighbour, who had seen the interaction, ringing them.
The prosecutor also told the court that a neighbour saw Tompkinson punching Poole ”to the head with his left fist”, after slapping him at first.
Nicholas Lumley, KC, defending, said the scientific evidence showed that the injuries to Karl Poole were consistent with him being pushed, rather than punched.
Mr Lumley told the jury that there were no injuries to Mr Poole's face, which would have been caused by a punch.
The defence case ended on May 9 with a series of personal witness statements on behalf of the star. They came from actors, directors and TV executives. All 10 praised him, saying how calm he was under pressure.
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