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A MAN attacked a woman with a one-metre piece of wood, twice trying to strike her in the head, a court has heard.
Scott Anthony Pearce, 25, was jailed for four months yesterday after he pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury to the woman on February 23 this year.
He sat next to his mother in the front row of Ballarat Magistrates Court before being taken into custody.
The court heard that Pearce and the victim had been arguing outside a Black Hill apartment on the evening in question, when he returned to his unit nearby.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Pepe Brown said Pearce grabbed a one-metre-long piece of wood, which was approximately 25 by 50 millimetres thick, then ran back to the victim.
Pearce swung at the woman twice, aiming for her head, the first time striking her left arm which she’d raised to protect herself.
The second swing connected with her chest as she again attempted to defend herself.
The victim managed to scramble inside her unit and lock the door before calling an ambulance.
She suffered bruising, swelling and grazes.
When interviewed by police, Pearce said he was acting in self-defence and that she’d tried to punch him.
Defence lawyer Vincent Peters urged the court to consider a community corrections order, despite his client breaching a suspended sentence.
He said Pearce had “some undiagnosed conditions”, citing his client’s intellect as a possible contributor to the offending.
“He doesn’t appear to have a mental impairment. He just functions at a low level,” Mr Peters said.
“He has a lot of feeling and the only way he releases it is a burst of anger.”
But Mr Peters said his client had found a unique outlet for his temper.
“The one thing that stands out ... more than anything else, is that he’s developed a garden,” Mr Peters said.
“Gardening, believe it or not, has been a great therapy for him.”
Magistrate Peter Couzens rejected Mr Peters’ submission on sentence, instead jailing Pearce four months.
“He was shown a great deal of leniency by corrections (previously),” Mr Couzens said. “Unfortunately he’s continued to drink heavily and use cannabis.”