A father and his two sons have been fined after they were involved in a violent brawl with two security guards at UOW's UniBar last year.
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Byron Jenkins, 49, and sons Jackson, 25, and Logan, 20, appeared in Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday where they pleaded guilty to their roles in the assault, which left one security guard with a head wound.
The trio were convicted and fined for their roles after they showed remorse and expressed shame for their actions following a night of drinking.
In court, Magistrate Darryl Pearce accepted the men were of good character and he did not believe they would appear before the court again.
He said alcohol played a significant role in the melee "but that was not an excuse", noting the court viewed fights in venues seriously as they were "unfortunately a frequent occurrence".
Documents tendered to court said the family went to the UniBar at the University of Wollongong on October 3 last year.
During the night, Logan was outside the bar when he was stopped by a security guard from re-entering.
Logan argued with the guard, asking to be let in to collect his phone, however the guard physically blocked him and pushed him away, with the incident recorded on CCTV footage.
Logan then pushed the guard and they became involved in a scuffle where they ended up on the ground.
Byron pulled his son off the guard, while Jackson ran in to intervene, putting another guard in a headlock.
Byron took his son, who was still being aggressive and confrontational, a short distance away but then turned and walked back towards the guards after hearing obscenities being yelled towards them.
Byron lunged towards a guard, who attempted to avoid his punches and in return kicked him several times.
Byron was restrained by another security guard but broke free and he and his sons continued attacking and brawling with the guards.
Logan put one of them in a headlock during the wrestle and when they fell to the ground, the guard hit his head, causing a large laceration.
The fight only stopped when other patrons intervened and pulled the father and sons away.
The trio, who all had ripped shirts, walked away from the bar and were met by police upon going to the carpark to order an Uber. They were allowed to leave as police needed to review CCTV footage.
Police spoke to the sons at their Warilla home on January 8 and the father at his Towradgi home on the same day where they were all told they would be charged and must attend court at a future date.
Logan was charged with being an excluded person attempting to re-enter a premise, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and behaving in an offensive manner in a public place.
Jackson was charged with behaving in an offensive manner in a public place as was Byron along with common assault.
In court on Tuesday, the trio's lawyer Robert Clayton said his clients knew the brawl should not have reached the point it did and they should have walked away before it escalated.
Mr Clayton said Byron in particular knew he "should have let the words wash over him" and his sons "acted out of an entirely misplaced sense of loyalty" when they saw their father go back to fight the guards.
Mr Clayton said the trio had a "high level of remorse" and felt shame over their actions.
He told the court the trio were all employed, of good character and had good prospects of not reoffending.
Magistrate Pearce fined Logan $1500 and placed him on a community corrections order for 12 months while his brother was fined $500 and their father would have to forfeit $900.
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