A man who had a few beers, walked out of a Wagga pub and punched a person has escaped jail time.
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Jake John Pfeffer pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault when he appeared in Wagga Local Court on Wednesday.
About 2.20am on January 10, the 26-year-old was on Baylis Street when two men walked towards him.
Pfeffer commented that one of them "looked like Bailey", to which the man replied, "I am not Bailey," and then laughed with his friend.
The Glenfield Park man then pushed one of them to the floor and then grabbed the other by the shirt.
Pfeffer then struck him with his closed fist before throwing him to the ground and punching him twice more in the head.
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The victim suffered grazes to his lower left abdomen, left elbow, and hand marks around his neck.
After reading police facts tendered to the court, Magistrate Miranda Moody described the incident as "a serious assault".
She added it was "drunken violence the community wants to see addressed".
Solicitor Michael Camerer said his client was adamant that he threw no punches, but Magistrate Moody countered this and said "these are the facts that your client has pleaded guilty to".
Mr Camerer said Pfeffer knew his behaviour was unacceptable in those circumstances.
"The character reference material shows him [to be] someone who is a giving person," he said.
Mr Camerer also spoke of two examples when Pfeffer had helped out in the community, including walking past a house fire and making sure the occupants were out of the home and neighbours also evacuated.
"He is a young man with a young family. He is the primary provider for that family," he said.
"He knows his behaviour at that time was completely inappropriate."
Magistrate Miranda Moody noted that Pfeffer was of good character who did not have a history of violence.
She also accepted that he was remorseful, was hardworking and had strong community ties.
"I know he is a man of good character, but drunken violence is a very serious community issue," Magistrate Moody said.
"The community expects to see magistrates and judges encourage people to comply with the law.
"I am taking into account the early plea. I am taking into account the lack of criminal antecedents."
Magistrate Moody sentenced Pfeffer to conditional release order for 12 months.
"The reason I haven't given you anything more harsh ... is because you are a man of good character," she said.
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