WAGGA LOCALCOURT
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
PEOPLE in Wagga have the right to go out at night and not expect to be assaulted, magistrate Michael Antrum said while convicting two men for kicking and stomping on a third man.
Mr Antrum made the comments while sentencing two members of the Mongols outlaw motorcycle gang in Wagga Local Court.
Duncan Luke Salter, 25, of Blacktown, and Jason Azzopardi, 28, from Quakers Hill, pleaded guilty to using violence to cause fear.
The pair was arrested in Sydney on July 4 by Wagga detectives and officers from Strike Force Raptor, which targets activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs.
The arrests followed an investigation into an attack on a 19-year-old man inside the Capital nightclub on June 1.
The teenager was punched, kicked and stomped on by a number of men near the dance floor.
Azzopardi and Salter were represented by barrister Geoff Beveridge, who said his clients did not start the assault.
"It was very quick, a spontaneous set of events that unfolded quickly," Mr Beveridge said.
He put to Mr Antrum that in a night club, patrons should expect an element of danger.
"It's not like it was a barbecue with children around," Mr Beveridge said.
"I do not accept that," Mr Antrum replied.
"People should be able to go out without fear of being kicked, stomped on, hustled or whatever."
Mr Antrum said the community was absolutely sick and tired of violence in night clubs.
He described the actions of both men as gutless.
"What real blokes do is pull people off and stop it escalating; you did not do that, you got involved," Mr Antrum said to Azzopardi.
Salter, who had a large star tattoo on his right cheek as well as other ink on his face and a previous conviction for violence, was fined $330 and placed on a five-month good behaviour bond for stomping on the teenager.
Azzopardi was fined $220 and placed on a four-month bond for kicking the victim.