A Warrawong scaffolder has confessed to bashing and robbing an elderly man of his gambling winnings in a dark alley behind the Open Hearth Hotel after losing his own money on the pokies.
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Tyler Pewhairangi, 23, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery causing wounding stemming from the December 2019 incident, which left the 77-year-old victim in hospital with multiple cuts to his face, some of which required stitches.
Documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court reveal Pewhairangi and the victim were the last two people inside the hotel at closing time, and left within moments of each other, with CCTV footage showing Pewhairangi following the victim along Mowbray Lane then into Cowper Street.
The victim later told police he realised he was lost and asked Pewhairangi for directions to Cringila.
The pair walked together before Pewhairangi pushed the man into the yard of a house on Montgomery Avenue.
Pewhairangi then punched the victim in the left side of his face causing him to fall over.
He told the elderly man "give me your money" then reached into his pockets and pulled out two $50 notes, a $10 note and some coins, totalling about $120.
Pewhairangi fled the scene, leaving the victim lying on the ground with wounds to his face and his shirt soaked in blood.
Police said the victim lost his hearing aids when he fell to the ground and was too scared that Pewhairangi might return to attempt to find them at the time.
A short time later, the victim got up and walked slowly back past the hotel, where a local taxi driver who knew him picked him up and took him home.
The man called his son who took him to Wollongong Hospital to be treated.
Meanwhile, police were notified and carried out an investigation. They obtained a statement from the victim, who pointed out where the assault had occured behind the hotel.
Police saw blood smears and spatter on the green coloured fence and shed inside the yard, which was later tested and found to match the victim's DNA.
Pewhairangi was arrest on January 10.
When interviewed by detectives, he said he went for a walk to "clear his head after losing $400" but denied assaulting or robbing the victim.
He said he gave the older man directions to Cringila but became "frustrated" with him when he wouldn't leave him alone and "grabbed hold of the victim by his shirt...and forcefully pushed him", causing both to fall to the found.
Pewhairangi said he'd been at a Christmas party earlier in the night and had drunk about four cans of beer and two glasses of bourbon and coke throughout the night, but denied he was drunk.
He remains behind bars and will face Wollongong District Court on August 14 when a sentencing date will be set.
