A drunken plan to steal a television ended with a stranger being bashed over the head with spanners and other tools about 10 times in his own Hobart home, a court has heard.
The 24-year-old was sitting at his desk in West Moonah on the evening of October 8, 2021, when three young men walked in through an unlocked door and dragged him to the ground.
They had been drinking at a nearby address and decided to target his house, arming themselves before heading over.
One of the attackers, who can only be identified as WJD because he was 17 at the time, was sentenced in the Supreme Court last month.
He had pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and aggravated armed robbery.
Chief Justice Chris Shanahan handed down an 18-month jail term and wholly suspended it for 18 months, attaching conditions including supervision, drug and alcohol bans and completion of an addiction program.
The victim was struck in the head repeatedly, suffering two deep scalp lacerations that required staples at the Royal Hobart Hospital.
His iPhone and Adidas shoes were stolen, though the shoes were later recovered.
He used a mug to detain one of the attackers in the stairwell until police arrived.
Shanahan described the offending as very serious.
“Striking the complainant to the head with a weapon was a very violent act,” he said.
“Such actions demand a sentence reflecting the need for general and specific deterrence, particularly when the offender has a tendency to lapse in and out of pro-criminal peer groups.”
The court was told the young man had a difficult upbringing, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and had previously robbed his own mother at knifepoint in 2020.
He was not arrested over the Moonah attack until December 2024, after forensic evidence linked him to the scene.
Shanahan acknowledged his youth in deciding against immediate prison time.
“In the end I have chosen to focus on the future and your youth and your obvious need for rehabilitation,” he said.
The young man was due for release from custody on unrelated matters on May 1, when the suspended sentence will take effect.
