A judge ordered a Jasper man to spend the next 15 years in prison for beating a man to death during a brawl at a Cherokee County sports bar in 2019.
Gary Matthew Allen, 34, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Aug. 19. He had been indicted in September 2019 on seven counts, including three murder charges, court records show.
Allen pleaded to the lesser charge this month as part of a negotiated deal between attorneys, Cherokee District Attorney Shannon Wallace said in a news release Thursday. Superior Court Chief Judge Ellen McElyea issued a 15-year prison stint followed by five years of supervised release.
Allen punched Leon Paul Danzis, a 45-year-old Winder man, in the face during a June 28, 2019, fight at the Canton Icehouse. The punch knocked Danzis to the ground, where he slammed his head on the concrete floor. Allen then jumped on Danzis and punched him in the face a second time.
Danzis later died from his injuries at Northside-Cherokee Hospital. Authorities determined he died of blunt force trauma from the repeated blows to the head and face.
Prosecutors noted that a toxicology test showed Allen had a blood alcohol level of .123, well above the legal driving limit of .08, at the time of his arrest.
“Just over three years ago, an evening of fun at a local establishment turned deadly when this intoxicated defendant lost his temper and attacked another man, leaving him fatally wounded on the bar’s concrete floor,” Wallace said in Thursday’s release. “While the defendant’s consumption of alcohol likely played a role in the death of Leon Danzis, the real blame rests solely on the shoulders of Gary Allen, who made the decision to drink excessively and attack an innocent man.”
The deadly encounter unfolded as Allen played pool with two other people at the sports bar. Danzis, a construction worker who was staying in a nearby hotel while he worked a job, entered the bar with his son and a coworker about 45 minutes later.
The group sat next to Allen and his friends, and attorneys said Allen even talked to Danzis and his companions several times through the night.
Surveillance footage from the bar showed Danzis exchanging words with Allen just before punches were thrown. According to investigators, they spoke alone in the doorway to the pool room, several feet from the other members of their respective groups. Moments later, Allen punched Danzis as he was looking in a different direction, Wallace said. Danzis’ friends intervened and a brief brawl broke out.
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