On 24 November 2024 our client was involved in an bar fight between his friends and a stranger, where our client knocked the stranger unconscious by kicking him in the head while he was on the ground. Our client was also found to be in possession of a knife.
He was later charged by the NSW Police with the following two offences:
On 2 February 2025 our client was sentenced by a Local Court Magistrate to a Community Corrections Order (CCO) and ordered to be of good behaviour and to complete 100 hours of community service.
Less than 3 months later, on 11 May 2025, our client was again involved in a fight between three of his friends and an Uber driver. The fight lasted over 5 minutes, and involved punching, kicking and the use of a chair as a weapon. Shortly after the fight ended, the NSW Police arrested our client and charged him with the offence of affray, contrary to section 93C(1) of the Crimes Act 1900. The maximum penalty for the charge of affray is 10 years imprisonment.
Our client was taken before the NSW Local Court and refused bail, given that he was on a CCO at the time of committing the offence. During the bail application, the Magistrate commented that it was very likely that our client would be sentenced to a term of full time imprisonment.
Our Sydney criminal lawyer then immediately began negotiating with the prosecution about the facts of the case. As there were 3 people involved in the fight, our Sydney criminal lawyer reviewed the CCTV and made important observations about the different role of each person involved the affray. Eventually, the prosecution accepted our version of events and agreed to amend the fact sheet in a way that assisted our client.
On 8 May 2025 our client then entered a plea of guilty to the offence of affray. Because he pleaded guilty, our client accepted that he was in breach of his CCO imposed on 2 February 2025, as he failed to be of good behaviour. Our client’s CCO was then called up by the Magistrate so that he could be re-sentenced at the same time.
After hearing our Sydney criminal lawyer’s submissions relating to the circumstances of the offence, the impact of custody on our client and our client’s prospects of rehabilitation (if he abstained from alcohol), the Magistrate sentenced our client to an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO) for a period of 9 months. In relation to the breach of the CCO, the Magistrate did not increase the penalty, but rather, varied the CCO by inserting a condition that our client abstain from alcohol, in accordance with our Sydney criminal lawyer’s submissions.
Despite the seriousness of the offence and the fact that it involved a breach of a CCO, our client was released from custody on the same day.
