Gabriel Lautaru of Bathurst sentenced to jail for road rage

Gabriel Lautaru, 53, of Currawong Street, South Bathurst was sentenced to his first stint in jail after he pleaded guilty in Bathurst Local Court on October 11, 2023 to;

Documents tendered to the court state Lautaru and the victim were travelling south on Wallgrove Road in Horsley Park in their separate vehicles about 11.30am on September 14, 2023.

As the road reached a point of merging, Lautaru - who was driving his white Nissan X-Trail - tried to overtake the victim.

But he became "frustrated".

The men pulled over at a set of traffic lights when Lautaru got out of his car and punched the victim three times in the face.

The court heard the man was still seated behind the wheel of his Toyota Corolla at the time.

Lautaru went back to his car as they both continued along Wallgrove Road.

Once they both stopped at a red light on The Horsley Drive, Lautaru got out of his car again and ran towards the victim's car with a piece of timber.

Lautaru hit the man's windscreen three times, causing it to shatter.

Shards of glass flew into the victim's face.

Lautaru drove away while the victim pulled to the side of the road and police were called by a witness.

Once police arrived about 11.45am, they saw the victim was bleeding from his right eye and had glass stuck in his skin.

It was about 5.50pm that afternoon when Lautaru went to Bathurst Police Station, where he was arrested for the matter.

"Shocked and ashamed" were the words Lautaru's solicitor Jonty Boshier used in court to describe his client's reaction to the incident.

Mr Boshier explained to the court that Lautaru - who was described as a "family man" with two children - had been transporting firewood at the time and became frustrated.

"There is no doubt Mr Lautaru's actions are on the higher end of the scale," Mr Boshier said.

"He recognises the severity of his actions and has a mental health plan in place for anger management."

Magistrate Fiona Toose rejected the defence's suggestion to deal with the matter by way of a correction order, describing the matter as "road rage at the highest order".

"It is appalling," Ms Toose said.

"You did this to an elderly gentleman. You wouldn't like this to happen to your parents.

"I don't believe community safety could be addressed by an intensive correction order."

Lautaru was given a 12-month prison sentence with a non-parole period of nine months.

He was released from custody with a sentence hearing, based off a severity appeal, listed before Orange District Court on March 12, 2024.

Lautaru's sentence is pending the outcome.

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