John Hurt sentenced for cocaine-fuelled Wollongong CBD rampage

John Nicholas Hurt, 23, faced Wollongong Local Court on Tuesday, November 21, having earlier pleaded guilty to multiple charges stemming from an out-of-control night out in March this year.

The fly-in, fly-out bricklayer was back in Wollongong during a break between contracts and attended the Heydey nightclub in the Wollongong CBD on Saturday, March 4.

There he consumed a significant amount of alcohol, so much that according to his lawyer Patrick Schmidt, he had no recollection of any of the events that were about to occur.

At 12.45am on Sunday morning, Hurt was refused re-entry to the nightclub due to his level of drunkenness.

RSA marshals and security staff asked Hurt to move away from the entrance, before he punched the RSA marshal with an uppercut to the jaw.

Hurt then fled towards Crown Street Mall and was spotted by witnesses five minutes later punching a wall near the intersection of Crown and Keira streets.

Unprovoked, Hurt then laid into one of those witnesses, punching him multiple times before the witness fell to the ground and Hurt continued to strike the man.

At this point, police patrolling the Wollongong CBD saw what was happening.

With the arrival of the officers, Hurt ran north along Keira Street, with the police officers pursuing him on foot.

As Hurt turned left onto Market Street, he was stopped by other police who placed him under arrest.

As they were doing so, police saw a small plastic resealable bag containing a white powder fall out of his pocket.

Police searched Hurt and found another four small resealable plastic bags also with a white substance. Police also found hundreds of dollars in cash on Hurt.

Police cautioned Hurt who told them the plastic bags and white powder were his, and he intended to share the contents with his "mates".

Police took Hurt to Wollongong Police Station and weighed the substance, which came in at just under four grams.

In court, Mr Schmidt said his client had never taken drugs before, and was subject to regular drug testing as part of his work.

On that night, Hurt had become so intoxicated that when he was offered cocaine, purchased some with the intention of sharing it around.

"He's come back into town, got extremely intoxicated, doesn't know what he's doing, takes drugs, offers it to friends and then goes into this manic state."

Mr Schmidt said the subsequent behaviour, including attacks on "inanimate objects" and innocent victims walking past was a result of Hurt's intoxication, however his client was extremely remorseful.

"He is embarrassed, ashamed, and worst of all cannot remember it at all," Mr Schmidt said.

"After a lengthy period with no alcohol, when he does drink it hits him like a truck."

Magistrate Michael O'Brien said while most people can "go out and have a good night out with friends and the evening is otherwise uneventful", the actions of Hurt gave him "pause".

"I wonder what happened to you?"

Mr O'Brien sentenced Hurt to a 12-month community corrections order on all counts, and a fine of $300.

"The last thing you should be doing is encouraging your friends to partake in illegal drugs," Mr O'Brien said.