A stuntman who jumped from a helicopter while doubling up for the Queen at the London Olympics was jailed for pushing his ex-girlfriend down the stairs.
Gary Connery, who parachuted at the 2012 opening ceremony dressed as a monarch, was found guilty by a jury of serious personal injury in a domestic violence case against Tanya Brass.
The 53-year-old was sentenced to 18 months after the victim’s shoulder was “broken” following an argument at his home about who would turn off the lights.
“It is absolutely clear that you have shown no remorse for what happened and you do not accept any blame on your part. A restraining order has also been imposed which prevents him from contacting Miss Brass indefinitely, “Judge Nigel Daly said in sentencing Connery to Oxford Crown Court.
At the London 2012 opening ceremony, the public watched a Daniel Craig film as James Bond entered Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen. She greeted him with the words “Good evening, Mr. Bond”, and the couple apparently boarded a helicopter that flew into the stadium.
Connery, as the queen, then parachuted to the ground alongside fellow paratrooper Mark Sutton as 007, before the monarch appeared in the arena to take his place amid cheers and cheers.
Connery, from Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, who has worked on films like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Johnny English Reborn, pushed her then-partner down the stairs of their home on October 24, 2020.
Brass – who was taking medication for bipolar disorder – suffered a broken shoulder and a head cut after the two, who had been drinking wine, argued over who would turn off a light and close a door.
Connery admitted to the police that after Miss Brass landed at the bottom of the stairs he told her: “Instant Karma”.
“Clearly you had a late night fight. You’ve both been drinking and it is clear that you are angry, ”Judge Daly said.
“However she behaved, she didn’t deserve to be thrown down the stairs.”
Connery was cleared by a jury last month for intentionally serious personal injury, but convicted of causing serious personal injury without intent.
In a statement about the impact of Brass’s victim read in court by prosecutor Jonathan Stone, she said she felt “unsafe” to go home and became financially dependent on her parents.
“I just want Gary to take responsibility for what he did and what he put us through,” he added.
Defense Sarah O’Kane said Connery had no previous convictions and had been of good character before the crime occurred.
He said the incident, which was “impulsive, spontaneous and, perhaps more appropriately, short-lived” had an impact on Connery’s career.
“The phone doesn’t ring like it used to,” he said.