An aspiring Christian pastor accused of breaking into his neighbour's unit and punching him multiple times in the early hours of the morning has been granted bail.
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Brian Heggie, 38, was charged with break, enter and commit a serious indictable offence after his arrest on Friday, October 28.
Heggie, who is studying vocational bible studies at a Berkeley church, fronted Wollongong Local Court from Parklea Correctional Centre on Monday.
According to court documents, Heggie and the alleged male victim have been neighbours for the past two years, and have had an "abrasive" relationship at times due to conflicting personal beliefs.
The pair live adjacent to one another on the second storey of a Berkeley unit complex.
In the afternoon before the incident, the alleged victim had been drinking with two friends and consumed half a litre of vodka.
After his friends left, he fell asleep watching TV, but awoke about 11:30pm to check that his front door was secured - which he does by wedging a pole under the knob due to the lock being broken.
The pole was in its rightful place, and the man went to bed.
But about 3am on Friday, October 28, police allege the man woke up to Heggie leaning over him and yelling.
The man attempted to escape to his lounge room but Heggie allegedly punched him in the jaw, according to police facts.
Heggie was agitated for unknown reasons and allegedly said to the man, "You called me ... toxic."
The man asked him to leave, but Heggie allegedly punched the man again - this time in the chest.
Heggie allegedly punched his neighbour in the chest twice more, and demanded he look him in the eye, before he returned to his own unit across the hall.
The man called emergency services, and noticed his pole wedged under the door was allegedly bent.
Police arrived shortly after the incident and the man was taken to Wollongong Hospital - with scans revealing his right collarbone had been fractured.
Heggie came out of his unit about 5am on Friday morning and was arrested.
In court on Monday, defence lawyer Anatasia Socorro argued for Heggie's release and said he has strong ties to the community, working as a bus driver and mechanic on top of his bible studies.
Ms Socorro added Heggie is also due to get married on Saturday.
But police prosecutor Sergeant Richard Novatin argued the offence was serious and caused "significant" injuries to the alleged victim.
Luckily for Heggie, Magistrate Claire Girotto granted him bail, meaning he will be able attend his big day on the weekend.
He will return to court at a later date.
Read more court and crime stories here.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
