A TEMORA father and son have been jailed for what the magistrate described as “vigilante” behaviour that resulted in the slashing of a victim’s jawline and left arm.
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Brandon Watson, 22, wept on his father David White’s shoulder as he contemplated a future behind bars in Wagga Local Court on Monday after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company.
The court heard 45-year-old White confronted the victim in his own home on July 5 last year, claiming the man had tried to sell his daughter a potentially-deadly drug mix called a hotshot.
Things quickly heated up as White began throwing punches at the man’s head, before jumping onto the lounge and attempting to knee him in the head.
The incident took a turn for the worse when White picked up a knife from the floor and swung his arm, holding the knife toward the man’s head.
According to agreed facts tendered to the court, the victim felt a number of punches to the back of his head and pulled his arms over his head to protect himself.
As the struggle continued, the knife cut the back of the man’s upper left arm and jawline.
The facts said Watson went to the house with his father aware of his intent.
Both White and Watson were arrested on July 7.
White pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company and to enter enclosed lands with intent to commit an indictable offence (assault).
White’s solicitor, Daryl Wilson, said there was no pre-meditation in using the knife, which he picked up at the scene.
Mr Wilson said White had a distorted, over-protective attitude in believing the man had offered methamphetamine to his young daughter.
Magistrate Erin Kennedy said it was not the role of the individual to intervene in a vigilante fashion and anyone concerned about illegal activity should contact police.
“We would be in a state of chaos if everyone took action into their own hands,” Ms Kennedy said.
“The criminal justice system has a role to play.”
Watson’s representative, Melanie Lim, asked the court to take into account his dysfunctional childhood, his ability to reform and his lesser role in the offence.
Watson was sentenced to 11 months’ imprisonment, with five months’ non-parole.
His sentence was backdated, with the magistrate taking into account the time Watson had served on remand.
Watson immediately launched a severity appeal, but was refused bail ahead of the appeal in Wagga District Court.
White was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment with 12 months’ non-parole.
Taking into account time already served, White’s earliest release date is October 9.