Two men have avoided jail time after violent incidents against staff and others, spurred by drugs, alcohol and animated affections.
Early January 2022, 21-year-old boilermaker William Hayes was socialising with his girlfriend and two other friends at the Huskisson Hotel, in Jervis Bay, from around 2-5 pm.
According to facts tendered to court, the group was asked to leave due to rowdy behaviour, but as they did, Hayes’ girlfriend got into a heated argument with a manager of the pub.
The former girlfriend, and co-accused, was followed by the manager, as he headed to alert security. Police say Hayes stuck his arm out, between them, stating something like “you’re not going near my girlfriend”.
The manager pushed the arm aside, and the accused grabbed him from behind, wrapping his forearm around the man’s throat and applying sufficient pressure for the victim to black out. Hayes released him and the manager dropped, unconscious for a few seconds before coming around.
Hayes apparently then wrestled with another staff member, before security arrived and stopped him.
Appearing this week in Queanbeyan Local Court, the Boro resident pleaded guilty to charges of choking and common assault.
His defence proffered that he regretted the incident and had been under the impression the victim intended to physically restrain his former girlfriend. He explained that he had been suffering from poor mental health, but had begun treatment for what were explained to be underlying issues.
Presiding over the case, Magistrate Roger Clisdell noted that there were mitigating circumstances.
He suggested Hayes had certainly overreacted, but was satisfied he was not inherently violent. No prison time was ordained, but convictions were recorded and he was fined $500 and sentenced to a nine-month intensive corrections order, during which time he is also prevented from entering any hotels.
Separately, a man has avoided jail for throwing a glass at his girlfriend during a drug-fuelled argument at a pub.
Anthony Spanos, a recruiter from Illawong, had checked in to a room at the Kingsgrove Hotel in early February with his 21-year-old girlfriend. The couple had been going out for more than a year.
In facts presented to court, the couple were seen arguing and Spanos shouting in the hotel’s beer garden, around 6pm. The defendant is said to have walked away from their table, with his drink, before turning and throwing his glass at her.
The glass hit a bench beside her and shattered and a glass fragment cut her thigh.
Spanos continued to walk away before quickly returning when he saw a staff member attending to the woman, pleading that he “didn’t mean” for it to hit her. The couple left soon after.
Police were alerted, and upon arrival staff pointed out Spanos, who was still close by. The man suggested that the glass had merely “slipped” and that it was actually an accident.
He was arrested and charged with reckless assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Appearing in Sutherland Local Court in February, the 39-year-old pleaded guilty, admitting the relationship – now ended – was heavily influenced by the use of cocaine and alcohol, but that he had not done drugs since October.
His defence said he regrated his actions, which were “reckless” as opposed to intentional, and his lawyer argued they fell towards the lower end of objective seriousness.
The court was told the defendant had tried on more than one occasion to apologise to his former partner, which was in fact a breach of conditions in the apprehended violence order applied for the woman’s own protection.
Magistrate Jillian Kiely stressed the actions, in a public venue, were “not appropriate”, but took news of the rehabilitation into account, convicting Spanos while sentencing him only to an 18-month community corrections order.