A judge has agreed to suspend a prison sentence handed to a Koonawarra man who threatened his former high school friend with a beer bottle while demanding his cash.
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Clinton Coulstock, 19, was originally sentenced to two years’ jail, with a minimum of six months behind bars, over the December 2013 incident, however lodged an appeal claiming the punishment was too severe.
In the district court on Thursday, Judge Paul Conlon agreed to a request by Coulstock’s lawyer, Suanne Hallman, to reduce the sentence by suspending the prison term, despite reports from authorities claiming Coulstock appeared "ambivalent" about getting treatment for his drug and alcohol issues.
The court heard on the night of the incident, the victim had withdrawn his entire $350 Centrelink payment from an ATM at Dapto and headed to the leagues club, where he put $20 through the pokies.
The victim later told police he recognised Coulstock - the pair had been at high school together a few years earlier - and saw him look in his direction a few times while he was at the poker machine.
The victim then left the club to walk home and was followed by Coulstock.
The pair was on Moombarra Street when Coulstock confronted the victim, saying "give me your money or I will drop you", while holding a beer bottle in one hand, and a plastic bag of glass bottles in the other hand.
The victim, fearing he was about to be assaulted, ran back to the club and alerted security, who contacted police.
Coulstock was arrested a few days later on Christmas Eve and charged with demanding property with menace, with intent to steal.
In court on Thursday, Ms Hallman said Coulstock suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and had spent much of his younger years in a specialist behavioural school.
Ms Hallman said alcohol abuse and a reliance on marijuana had been long-standing issues for Coulstock, who admitted he was highly intoxicated when he committed the crime aand didn’t remember much of the night.
However, the court heard in the past month he’d made significant changes in his life to address his problems.
In suspending the prison term, Judge Conlon accepted that Coulstock had attended an intensive, week-long drug and alcohol program at the Watershed complex and hadn’t used alcohol or marijuana since completing the program.