The victim of a brutal bashing carried out by a Werribee man and
more than a dozen teenagers has suffered long-term injuries, a court has
heard.
Last Wednesday Pat Wallace, 37, was found guilty of bashing Robert Warner, who had to undergo extensive surgery for cuts and fractures to his right eye socket and nasal cavity.
The conviction comes as new police data shows assaults in Wyndham
(excluding family violence) soared 20.6 per cent in the year to June,
with more than 670 offences recorded.
Werribee Magistrates Court heard Mr Warner was walking back to his
car after an argument at a Werribee house in January last year when
Wallace approached him from behind and punched him in the face with a
clenched fist.
Prosecutor Wayne Duggan said a group of 15 teenagers had joined in to kick and punch Mr Warner.
Mr Warner was admitted to Werribee Mercy Hospital shortly after 9pm, where he underwent two major operations.
He told the court he has a titanium plate and six screws under his eye and is still unable to feel his face.
“I can’t close my eye properly,” he said. “When I shower, the water goes right through my eye.
“I spent a week in hospital … I haven’t been able to work since.”
Under questioning, Wallace claimed he thought Mr Warner was going to hit him so he “threw the first punch”. He also said Mr Warner had threatened to “firebomb” his house.
Wallace was also convicted of two incidents of violence towards
hospital staff. In August last year, he picked up a chair and smashed
the glass window of a Sunshine hospital nursing bay before security
guards restrained him. The following month he threatened to kill a
psychiatric unit nurse at Werribee Mercy Hospital.
Magistrate Luisa Bazzani said Wallace would avoid jail because he
had mental-health issues and no history of violence. “He has no priors
for violence at all,” she said. “If he had priors, a term of
imprisonment would have been much higher on the agenda.”
Wallace was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order, including unpaid community work.
