A Barrack Heights man who brutally bashed his ex-girlfriend’s work colleague in a drunken rage has failed in his bid to stay out of jail.
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Scott Grindle, 34, punched the man in the face and repeatedly stomped on his head and chest in the January 24 attack, which left the victim with broken bones, a punctured lung and extensive bruising.
The court heard Grindle and the woman had been dating for two months prior to the incident, however had had a fight earlier in the night while at a farewell party at the Towradgi Beach Hotel.
They split as a result, and Grindle returned to the woman’s Tarrawanna house, sent her a threatening text message, then packed a bag and left the premises.
The victim, who had also been at the farewell that night, accompanied the woman home in a taxi just after midnight.
Grindle entered the woman’s bedroom via a door on the balcony and, upon discovering the man in the house, launched a violent, frenzied on him until the victim fell unconscious.
The court heard the woman unsuccessfully tried to push Grindle away from the victim.
He eventually left of his own accord.
The victim was subsequently taken to hospital where he underwent surgery for a broken jaw, as well as receiving treatment for a fractured cheekbone and ribs, and a punctured lung.
Grindle was arrested four days later.
Grindle’s lawyer, Paul Townsend, sought to have his client assessed for an intensive corrections order in court on Tuesday on account of his client’s impressive self-rehabilitation, combined with his “extraordinary” subjective circumstances, which cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.
“I’m inviting the court to exercise its mercy and not impose a full-time jail sentence on this man,” Mr Townsend said.
However, Judge Andrew Haesler said the case was too serious to deal with it without a full-time prison sentence.
“He was following through on childish threats,” he said.
“It was a sustained, unprovoked assault. He had no right to do what he did, he had no ownership over [his ex-partner] and had no right to be in her premises.
He sentenced Grindle to three years’ jail, with a non-parole period of 12 months.
