Man who fought in driveway, fled to shed spared a jail sentence

Luke Long, also known as Luke Jacobs, 30, of Stack Street in West Bathurst, appeared before Magistrate Elizabeth Ellis in Bathurst Local Court on June 5 to answer a string of charges, including stalking/intimidating, destroying or damaging property, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and failing to appear.

His solicitor Keith Kuan told the court his client had a good MERIT (Magistrate's Early Referral Into Treatment) report and he said that on the day in question, his client had an argument over rent which was a contributing factor.

Mr Kuan said Long had been out of trouble since 2019, with 2023 being his most recent breach, and he has fully abstained from alcohol use.

The court heard of Long's difficulties growing up around alcohol and drugs, with Mr Kuan saying his client was at a crossroads.

Long's mother and sister were in court supporting him and the court heard he had also gained full-time employment and had recently got his licence.

"He is extremely unlikely to reoffend," Mr Kuan said

Police documents tendered to the court told how Long, also known as Jacobs, returned home to Boyd Street from a pub some time between 8pm and 10pm on December 17, 2023.

He walked to the rear of the house towards his bedroom and punched the back door, causing the door to break inwards and creating a large hole in the centre.

He went into his room and began punching and kicking his bedroom door, according to the police documents, pulling it off its hinges.

This caused the door to splinter at the door handle.

About 3.30pm on December 18, the victim in the matter returned home from work and noticed the damage to the doors.

The victim questioned Long about the damage and, according to the police documents, Long said he did it but didn't remember doing it and he wondered whether someone had spiked his drink the previous night.

Long and the victim began arguing about the damage as well as the rent money owed to the victim.

About 3pm the next day, Long returned home from the pub and sat in his room. The victim also got home and walked to the back area of the house to feed the dog.

"I'll go get your f***ing rent money now," Long yelled, throwing a plate on his bedroom floor, which broke into a number of pieces, according to the police documents.

The victim left the home to go see his partner.

About 7.15pm on the same day, the victim returned home and there was a verbal argument between himself and Long.

The victim was standing in the hallway when Long approached him and punched him in the face, according to the police documents.

The victim and Long walked to the front yard of the home, down their driveway behind a car and began wrestling.

Long punched the victim in the jaw and then picked up a brick from a small stack and kept walking as the pair argued, according to the police documents.

Long cocked his arm to throw the brick at the victim but the victim hit Long in the arm, causing him to throw the brick to the ground.

They continued arguing and walking closer to the end of the driveway, began to wrestle again and fell to the ground.

The victim punched Long.

They both stood up and Long punched the victim in the jaw, causing him to fall to the ground, according to the police documents.

A witness approached Long, tackled him and held him down to prevent further assaults.

After about 30 seconds, the witness let go of Long. Long stood up and continued yelling at the victim, saying words to the effect of "I'm going to kill you; I wish I had a knife because I'd stab you", according to the police documents.

Another witness began yelling at Long, telling him to go to his house, so Long ran across the road and went into the witness' backyard shed.

A third witness approached the victim to see if he was okay.

At about 7.30pm on the same day, police arrived and spoke with the victim, who gave a statement. Police said they saw he had cuts on his knee, foot and knuckles that were bleeding.

Police went to another home and spoke with a witness, who had Long in his rear shed.

Police said they introduced themselves and questioned Long, who said he got into a fight with the victim and punched him.

They spoke to a third witness, who said he saw Long and the victim fighting and heard Long threaten the victim.

Police placed Long under arrest. They said Long said he had already told the victim he was going to give him money to fix the door.

Long was taken to Bathurst Police Station.

Police said Long was too drunk to be read to and explained his rights. After one-and-a-half hours, he was able to be read to and he denied his opportunity for an interview.

In sentencing, Magistrate Ellis told Long that if he had not done anything to address his problems, he would be serving an 18-month sentence in jail.

"Having 30 standard drinks a day is a huge problem and you have started to address it," she said.

"The report to the court says you have done what you have been asked and for that reason you have kept yourself out of jail.

"My experience tells me it's a wonderful start ... but that's all it is ... a start."

She urged Long to continue his rehabilitation and to learn techniques to prevent a regression.

"Do the courses; no drugs, no alcohol for 18 months," she said.

Long was placed on an intensive corrections order for 18 months, including supervision.