A man has been jailed for nine years for punching and killing David Blake outside a Creswick pub before walking away.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Shane Lucas, 42, will serve six years before being eligible for parole.
He was sentenced at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday during an almost two-hour long hearing.
The Miners Rest man pleaded guilty in December to the manslaughter death of 40-year-old Mr Blake, also known as Tender, at the Farmers Arms Hotel at Creswick in November, 2019.
Lucas had been on a Tinder date when he punched Mr Blake twice to the face and struck him once in the neck at 1.41am, knocking him unconscious with the last punch on his chin and he fell, hitting his head on the concrete.
Justice Michael Croucher described Lucas as a "quick tempered drunkard, a lout suffering delusions of grandeur" and he "bounced around as if he was Mohammed Ali" after the attack.
Lucas "cravenly" fled the scene and handed himself into police about four hours later.
Mr Blake, who was 196 centimetres tall and weighed 170 kilograms, did not raise his hands or try to punch Lucas during the assault.
READ THE FULL DOCUMENT BELOW
Lucas and Mr Blake, both plasterers, had been drinking heavily and interacted in a friendly manner throughout the evening.
The pair and two other men had been talking outside the pub, with Mr Blake believed to have made reference to the murder of a policeman outside the same pub in 1992.
Lucas is heard saying to Blake, "don't speak about my mate like that" before the attack.
Justice Croucher said the prosecution applied to have Lucas' offence the subject to the coward punch legislation for a mandatory minimum non-parole period of 10 years' imprisonment. Lucas opposed the application.
He said Lucas' case did not apply to the coward punch legislation.
"I am not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that all of the pre-conditions in the applicable provisions have been established. Accordingly, those provisions do not apply to Mr Lucas' case and I must impose sentence under the more conventional regime instead," Justice Croucher said.
"That said, the offence is still serious. A man has been cut down in his prime as a result of unlawful and senseless violence. The CCTV footage is sickening. It's like watching a nasty hyena take down a noble wildebeest.
It's like watching a nasty hyena take down a noble wildebeest.
Justice Croucher said one of the unusual features of the manslaughter case was the cause of Mr Blake's death.
He said often assault victims fell, struck their head on a hard surface and died because of catastrophic brain injury or a fractured skull.
Mr Blake did not have a traumatic brain injury but instead, in addition to the assault to the head including a cut, he had complications due to a high blood alcohol level reading, an enlarged heart and obesity.
"That said, Mr Lucas must take his victim as he finds him. Causation is still made out," Justice Croucher said.
"Mr Blake seems to have been as unlucky as he was big and gentle. This reality may also be reflected in the lull before the administration of first aid as well as in Mr Lucas' idiotic post-assault bouncing about.
IN OTHER NEWS
"Experience, nevertheless, tells death by comparative minor assault is not as rare as maybe thought. A punch or two to the head can kill and sometimes does.
"There is an understanding that it is not like the movies or computer games where those assaulted always bounce back without harm. Instead, lives are in fact taken in moments of such mindlessness, loved ones are left grief-striken and the perpetrator's life is in ruins too, to he must live with what he has done and suffer any legal consequences that come his way."
Justice Croucher said the offence was serious for reasons including loss of life, Lucas assaulted him to the head, there was no reason for the assault and he cravenly fled the scene.
The judge told Mr Blake's family he was sorry for their loss and made reference to the victim impact statements.
Mr Blake's mother said her son was always there to give her support and a big bear hug after he husband died and he was always kind to others.
Mr Blake's sister remembered her brother having a heart of gold and it shattered her to know he died in a violent way, while one of Mr Blake's brothers said he felt like he was constantly watching his back, because he feared life could be taken so easily.
Justice Croucher said mitigating factors included the attack was spontaneous and not premeditated, Lucas did not intend to kill Mr Blake and the punches were thrown quickly.
Lucas has served 461 days of his sentence through pre-sentence detention.
Our team of local journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the Ballarat community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark thecourier.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news, sport and daily headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News