A man involved in a stabbing has avoided jail after a judge said the community would be better off if he was released on a community corrections order.
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Chaise Whittall, 23, pleaded guilty to a charge of affray over a fight outside Dapto Leagues Club on February 17, 2022.
Whittall and his co-offender Tyson Williams approached the victim outside the leagues club after a disagreement about a car the victim had left with Whittall.
The victim was told by his partner that his car, a Holden SS Commodore, had been "trashed" by Williams while in the possession of Whittall between February and August 2020, police documents state.
Whittall and the victim had run into each other in September 2020 and had a heated conversation.
The victim then arranged a woman to speak to Williams about the car, as he was angry he had not been compensated.
On February 17, as the victim and his partner were leaving Dapto Leagues Club, they passed a group including Williams and Whittall at the entrance to the club.
Whittall, wearing a black hooded jumper, black shorts and a bum bag got into an argument with the victim and then followed the victim and his partner outside the club.
Walking towards the other side of the carpark on Osborne Street, the victim and Whittall faced each other, before Whittall punched the victim in the right side of the face, hitting the man's right ear and temple.
The victim continued to try and leave Whittall behind, walking away from the club carpark, but not before Williams lunged at the victim and stabbed him in the upper arm.
Williams sought treatment in a pharmacy before going to Dapto Medical Centre, where Williams pulled up in a blue hatchback and said to the victim "come on, let's go", documents tendered to court show.
Not responding, the victim went into the medical centre and was referred to Wollongong hospital for treatment for the one-centimetre wound to his arm.
Arriving at the Dapto Leagues Club later, police later found a knife next to a drain and matched blood stains on it to the victim.
After making enquiries, on February 23, the police attended Whittall's address in Berkeley and arrested him.
Whittall told police "I wasn't the one who stabbed him," but was taken into custody.
Sentencing Whittall in Wollongong District Court on Thursday, Judge Andrew Haesler said Whittall would receive more support in the community than in custody, where he had spent 8 months in 2021 for breaching the terms of an intensive corrections order (ICO) for a previous offence.
"The experience of jail has had an impact on him, all reports indicate he will do everything he can to not go back to jail," Judge Haesler said.
Defence barrister Michelle Fernando said the consequences for Whittall had already been "quite severe".
"My submission is that the aggravated factor has been dealt with in the fact of him having to serve that ICO," she said.
Judge Haesler said ensuring Whittall was supervised and assisted in the community was paramount, and a custodial sentence without that would not be in the community or Whittall's interests.
"A custodial may have been warranted, but pragmatism and community interest requires a lesser disposition in this case."
Judge Haesler convicted Whittall, sentencing him to a community corrections order for 12 months and required him to complete 100 hours of community service.
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