A Wollongong man who injured another during a violent Lake Heights home invasion the day after his son was born will spend more than two years behind bars.
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On Boxing Day in 2021, a masked Deng Lual broke into a Lake Heights unit with his friend and co-offender Ryan Keegan.
The male occupant yelled "what are you doing here" before Lual and Keegan demanded his car keys.
A confrontation ensued when the victim refused to hand them over, with Lual and Keegan punching the man's head, chest and face several times.
The victim managed to break free from a wrestle on the floor and ran outside screaming out for help.
The court heard the victim went back inside, and saw Lual or Keegan holding a kitchen knife.
The victim then grabbed the knife, which left him seriously wounded, and another struggle began.
A neighbour who heard the victim's pleas came inside and attempted to intervene by pushing the offenders away, but suffered a broken nose after Lual punched him.
The neighbour then grabbed Lual and restrained him outside
However the pair eventually broke free and fled, but left behind the kitchen knife and a balaclava.
Police arrested Lual and Keegan in Berkeley a short time later.
The victim suffered cuts to his face, shin, and lacerations to the side of his stomach and index finger which required urgent surgery in Sydney.
The injured neighbour provided a victim impact statement to the court, saying he still struggled with breathing after his injury.
Deng Lual previously pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter to commit a serious indictable offence and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Defence barrister Scott Fraser told the court Lual's offending was a product of his disadvantaged background compounded with his cognitive function, which is impaired by a traumatic brain injury.
Judge Andrew Haesler took this into account in sentencing, adding the case against Lual was "fairly overwhelming".
"This offending and its circumstances were so serious that only a full-time jail sentence can be imposed," Judge Haesler said.
Lual was handed a five-year and two-month jail sentence, with a non-parole period of two years and eight months, backdated to July last year.
Read more Illawarra court and crime stories here.
Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
