Man jailed after armed Riverina home invasion leaves victim bashed

Patrick Charles Beauchamp, 43, has been sentenced by Judge Gordon Lerve in the Wagga District Court over one count of breaking and entering a premises and committing theft in the company of four other persons, and a further count of wounding in company.

On the night of October 23, 2020, the victim communicated with two co-offenders - Tristan Lee and Zarah Hart - via Facebook Messenger to arrange the sale of methamphetamine.

The victim had agreed to facilitate the sale and supply of the drug from a "mate" of his.

It was agreed the pair would come to his house and purchase the drugs and the victim told Hart he would leave the door unlocked for when they came around.

About 5am the following day, Hart messaged the victim to say she was in Junee. Facts tendered to the court say a number of attempts were made to contact the victim but he did not answer any call or message.

Following this, Beauchamp, Lee and an unidentified male co-offender entered the victim's residence and went into his bedroom.

The victim awoke after Lee struck him to the side of his face with a piece of timber.

He was then blinded by a flashlight and found he was bleeding after touching his face and finding blood on his hands.

The invaders began searching through the bedroom drawers, but Beauchamp doubted whether they would find any drugs.

Facts reveal Beauchamp said words to the effect of "there mustn't be anything here if he's not going to give it up after that whack".

The victim could also hear others rummaging through rooms in the house.

After he was told to get up from the bed, the victim stepped into the hallway and fought back, punching Lee to the back of the head while also striking out behind him and hitting Beauchamp in the chest.

But the counter-attack was short-lived after the unidentified male produced a black extendable baton and struck the victim on the back of his shoulder, causing to drop to his knees in pain and told him to "stop struggling".

The victim then crawled through the hallway to the dining room where he saw two women - one of whom was Hart - in his lounge room rummaging through drawers.

At some point the women left, while Beauchamp and Lee ran outside and returned several times in the space of minutes before police allege they finally departed the property and attempted to break into another address.

The victim locked the doors once they left before heading to Junee's police station to report the incident.

Attending Junee Hospital the following day, the victim had two lacerations above his right eye from the blow he received while in bed, and bruises on both his shoulder and his arm.

On inspection of his home, the victim noticed two mobile phones, a computer tablet, money box with about $30 change, cigarette lighters, small pouch of tobacco and small oxy cylinder were missing.

Months later, on April 12, 2021, Beauchamp was arrested over the incident, but refused to admit involvement.

Police noted while he was unarmed or directly involved in any of the assaults or injuries inflicted on the victim, he was still a party to the joint criminal enterprise to assault and steal from the victim.

Co-offender Lee was sentenced to six years and three months in prison which began on June 12, 2021 and handed a non-parole period of four years and three months, set to expire on September 11, 2025.

Meanwhile, Hart was sentenced last year to two years and eight months in prison, with a non-parole period of four months.

In 2021, Beauchamp entered pleas of not guilty to charges relating to the incident and a trial ensued, however it was subsequently aborted.

A re-trial began in August 2023 and Beauchamp pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter and commit a seriously indictable offence.

When sentencing Beauchamp last month, Judge Lerve reflected on the man's criminal record, noting Beauchamp was on parole and serving an intensive corrections order when the home invasion took place

The court heard Beauchamp had previously been jailed for committing robbery with a dangerous weapon.

He also had a prior offence of entering a dwelling while armed and committing a seriously indictable offence.

But noting the contents of a sentencing assessment report, Judge Lerve said Beauchamp had shown some positive signs during his custody based employment, including a "strong work ethic" and a "positive attitude".

Judge Lerve also noted he had displayed "some degree of remorse to the author of the report".

The court heard Beauchamp had a history of abusing drugs and alcohol and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Another report tendered to the court also suggested Beauchamp had shown remorse, with the offender saying he was "sorry" to be involved in the incident.

"I'm sorry that he got hurt. I'm sorry I didn't stop what happened to him. I apologise to the court that it happened," Beauchamp said.

Acknowledging Beauchamp has been in custody since April 12, 2021 over a "number of offences", and taking into account all relevant factors, Judge Lerve sentenced him to a term of three years and four months in prison.

He was handed a non-parole period of one year and eight months behind bars and will be eligible for release on November 10, 2025.