Police-chase van driver jailed for killing golfer Suzanne Cherry

A roof repair fraudster who drove his minibus into a mother of three on a golf course after being chased by the police was sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison.

Suzanne Cherry died in hospital four days after she was shot at Aston Wood Golf Club in Staffordshire, the day before her 63rd birthday in April.

John McDonald, 52, was spotted and pursued by police cars as he and two others tried to defraud elderly victims of tens of thousands of pounds over poor work on the roof.

The 52-year-old man admitted causing death by dangerous driving at Worcester Crown Court on Monday.

Cherry was playing golf with her husband at the course at Shenstone, near Sutton Coldfield.

His partner said his wife’s death had left him without a future to look forward to, leaving him with only “an empty gift of survival”.

John McDonald, of Booth Street, Bloxwich, was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison, with a concurrent sentence of 48 months, for conspiracy to defraud.

Judge James Burbidge KC told him “you have killed one man and ruined many” and he would have to serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison before being released.

Co-defendants Johnny McDonald, 23, of Molyneux Road, Dudley, were sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment and Brett Delaney, 35, of Michael Road, Darlaston, was sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit fraud charges, to which they pleaded guilty.

They carried out the fake roofing work in the West Midlands under the name of a company called Approved Roofs Ltd.

“The people you were looking for were easy targets because they were vulnerable and trustworthy,” Burbidge told them.

On April 11, a police officer in a marked vehicle spotted the trio “by chance” and began following them after one of them spotted him and turned his head away.

The court heard the group were following an elderly customer to a cash machine to collect payment after performing substandard work on her roof when they were spotted.

Prosecutor Michael Burrows KC said the van was traveling on the wrong side of the road at high speed, damaging at least five vehicles as it reached speeds of 70mph in 30mph zones and was even used to repeatedly ram a pursuing police car.

John McDonald then drove the van to the golf club and drove towards the first fairway, when the van went off the road police broke off their pursuit.

Cherry was looking for a ball by the creek when he was shot.

The court heard John McDonald braked four and a half seconds before the collision, while Cherry came into view five seconds before, making a collision inevitable.

“[Her husband] I yelled at him, but there was no time for him to react,” Burrows added.

The court heard John McDonald ran over Cherry’s body as he fled with the two others.

The court heard the police officer who followed the van was considering leaving the force because of what happened.

Burbidge praised the officers on duty for their “calm, collected, professional demeanor”, adding: “They should receive high praise from their senior officers if they haven’t done so already.”

All three defendants pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges last year.

Mark Gatley KC, defending John McDonald, said the defendant had nightmares about his actions and was in poor physical health.

“He accepts full responsibility for his crime in causing the untimely deaths of this much-loved woman, his sister, his mother and his wife,” he added.

John McDonald said “thank you” as he left the courtroom.

Burbidge said his actions were “extremely bad” and that he was “trying to save his own life” as he ran after the crash.

He said: “Clearly you tried to brake but you didn’t have enough time to avoid it.

“Even if you did something to prevent the collision, it was too little, too late.”

Det Insp Lisa Holland, of Staffordshire Police, described the sentence as an “excellent outcome” but accepted no sentence would be enough for the family.

Asked about John McDonald’s driving, Holland said he had behaved “horribly” and added: “I can’t imagine what was going through his mind.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has previously launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the fatal crash and the involvement of police officers.

“Our investigation, with all officers treated as witnesses, was completed in October,” a spokesman said.

“To avoid any possible bias, we will publish our findings at the conclusion of all relevant proceedings, including the criminal investigation.”