A DRUNK man kicked in the door of the wrong house then went into the wrong bedroom after his friends dropped him off at the wrong address, a court has heard.
Damien Bambridge, 21, had already consumed a slab of alcohol when his friends deliberately dropped him off at the wrong house during the early hours of March 19 last year.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Michelle Burnett said Bambridge was “extremely intoxicated” when he tried to open the front door.
Finding it was locked, he yelled for his housemates to open it, and was told by the occupant he had the wrong property.
Bambridge then kicked the door in and went to one of the bedrooms, thinking it was his.
The occupant called police, who eventually took Bambridge to his actual home.
He appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to wilfully damaging property.
Defence lawyer James Loftus said his client genuinely thought it was his home.
“It was a practical joke that went spectacularly wrong,” he said, also pointing out that Bambridge was no longer friends with the people who dropped him off.
“He’s mortified that he carried on the way he did.”
Magistrate Andrew Capell fined Bambridge $600 with conviction.
“I’m told your drinking habits have changed, well they have to because you’ll die if you keep drinking at that rate,” Mr Capell said.
“Any person who’s confronted with that at night would be distraught and fearful every time someone comes to the door.”
Email a friend