Two men found guilty over death of Doncaster boxer shot dead in pub

Two men have been found guilty today over the death of a popular boxer shot dead in a Doncaster pub.
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Tom Bell, aged 21, was gunned down at the Maple Tree pub in Balby on January 17 this year.

Scott Gocoul, 28, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of murder today and Joseph Bennia, 30, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of manslaughter after a trial.

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Tom Bell was shot deadTom Bell was shot dead
Tom Bell was shot dead

Both men had denied killing Mr Bell, who was shot twice when a gun was fired through the window of the family pub.

At the opening of the trial, prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said it was the Crown’s case that one of the defendants waited in a stolen white BMW that was parked on a roundabout yards away from the pub, as the other one carried out the fatal shooting.

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Jurors heard how one of Mr Bell’s friends spotted the gunman before he opened fire and shouted: ‘get down’ as the killer pulled out his gun.

Mr Campbell said: “As everyone reacted to that, two shots were fired in quick succession, each in a different direction, breaking two panes of glass.”

Mr Bell repeatedly shouted: ‘I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot’.

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After gasping his last words, ‘Is it bad?,’ Mr Campbell told the jury that Mr Bell collapsed by the bar seconds later and never regained consciousness.

Mr Bell was shot in front of an estimated 60-70 witnesses, many of whom had been at the pub for a weekly quiz that had been due to start a short time later.

Mr Bell was a ‘promising boxer’ who had turned professional at the age of 18.

More to follow.