A 19-year-old girl who punched her grandfather in the head after he came to the defence of his wife has been placed on a 12-month community corrections order.
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Jamie Gacek Muriwai of Bacchus Marsh appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday where she pleaded guilty to multiple driving-related charges including driving in a manner dangerous, two counts of unlawful assault and one each of criminal damage and theft from a shop.
The court heard Gacek Muriwai, on September 3 of last year, came face to face with her grandmother before allegedly pushing her because she had not allowed the 19-year-old to accompany her to the local shops.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Kathleen Hewitt said the accused then punched her grandfather in the head with a closed fist after he stepped in and pushed her away from his wife.
On October 3, 2014, Gacek Muriwai again became “upset” at her grandparents after they denied her access to their car.
Senior Constable Hewitt said Gacek Muriwai grabbed a kitchen chair and smashed it on the floor before grabbing a broken-off chair leg and smashing it through a wall in the kitchen.
The court also heard on a separate occasion the accused was observed “fish-tailing” in an unregistered vehicle while on a suspended learners permit in Melton before hitting an on-coming vehicle on the opposite side of the road.
Gacek Muriwai’s defence lawyer Kylie Moloney said her client had little support, but was currently trying to “get things back on track”.
She has little support. (My submission is a) community corrections order so the support she needs can be put in place.
- Lawyer Kylie Moloney
Ms Moloney told the court Gacek Muriwai had become “very envious” her mother lived with her grandparents, but she couldn’t.
Ms Moloney initially called for her client to be fined, then suggested a CCO would be more appropriate “so support she needs can be put in place”.
However, magistrate Michelle Hodgson said she wasn’t inclined to fine the woman, describing Gacek Moloney’s actions as “unacceptable”. Ms Hodgson placed the young woman on a 12-month CCO and ordered her to complete 100 hours of community work.
