A man who struck a woman on the head with a tumbler moments after threatening to “glass” her has been sent to jail by the Supreme Court.
Xavier Mitchell, who was 19 at the time, pleaded guilty to wounding Renee Trojan outside the emergency housing assistance Day Space premises in Hobart on December 6, 2025.
The court heard the pair argued in the smoking area. Mitchell threatened to “glass” Trojan, then went inside, picked up a tumbler and came back.
When she suggested they go around the corner to calm down, he hit her on the head and left.
Justice Kate Cuthbertson said CCTV footage showed Trojan, who received a wound to the top of her head that required six stitches, “did not offer any violence”.
“It is important to make clear to you that violence of this type is unacceptable,” she said.
“Using violence is no way to deal with your personal grievances.”
The court heard Mitchell grew up exposed to violence and drug use. When he was 14, his mother left him at a drug dealer’s house.
Justice Cuthbertson said his background likely reduced his moral culpability. She also took into account his age and early guilty plea.
But she said he had deliberately armed himself and offended less than two months after leaving prison.
He also missed six appointments for a Community Corrections report, which she said suggested he was “not yet ready to receive the support” he needed.
Mitchell was sentenced to nine months in jail from September 19.
Six months were suspended for 18 months from his release, on the condition that he does not commit an offence punishable by imprisonment.
