TWO brothers found guilty at trial of acts of serious violence in the lead-up to a stranger's death in the Mowbray Hotel have each been jailed for less than three years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Last week, Jay David Blazely, 40, and Mitchell Clay Dowling, 44, were remanded in custody in Launceston after a Supreme Court jury returned five guilty verdicts against them.
Jurors found Blazely, 40, guilty of assaulting Tony Brown, committing an unlawful act with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Mr Brown and assaulting Grant Thomas.
They found Dowling, 44, guilty of assaulting Derryn Thomas and committing an unlawful act with intent to do grievous bodily harm to Mr Brown.
The Exeter-raised Mr Brown, 28, died from the injuries he suffered during the brawl at the Mowbray Hotel on July 17, 2013.
Neither man was accused at trial of having caused the death of Mr Brown, but jurors rejected the men's claims of self-defence.
Murder charges had previously been dropped against the pair because the evidence would fail to support a conviction at trial.
State forensic pathologist Dr Donald Ritchey had given evidence during preliminary proceedings last year in the Launceston Magistrates Court that he could not determine which accused struck the fatal blow to Mr Brown, or whether it was a combination of both their actions.
In sentencing Blazely and Dowling in Launceston on Thursday, Justice Robert Pearce acknowledged the devastating impact that Mr Brown's death had had on his family and friends, but said he was unable to sentence the men on the basis that they had caused Mr Brown's death.
However, Justice Pearce condemned the men's criminal conduct and blasted their "unmeritorious attempt" at blaming the Mowbray Hotel for what happened and said it undermined their purported remorse.
He jailed Blazely for two years and three months, backdated to October 13, 2014, with a non-parole period of half his sentence.
Justice Pearce jailed Dowling, who has a much worse criminal record, for two years and six months, backdated to October 12, 2014, with a non-parole period of half his sentence.
Outside court, Mr Brown's family and supporters expressed "extreme disappointment" at the men's sentences.