A drug-affected man punched an 18-year-old in the face before continuing to assault him with two other men, a court has heard.
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Brandon Wilson, 23, was in a Sebastopol house in July 2020 with the two co-accused when the victim arrived with another friend after asking her to give him a lift home.
Wilson did not know the victim but told police he attacked him because he had 'lagged on his brother'.
He punched him to the left side of the face and Wilson joined in when others began punching and kicking him, causing the victim to suffer fractures and bruising.
Wilson then drove the victim home after one co-accused held the victim's arm and told him to get into the back seat of the car.
The victim later identified Wilson as one of his attackers on a police photo line-up.
You being drug free in the community is what everyone wants and needs from you.
- Magistrate Letizia Torres
Crown prosecutor Jenaya Ellis said the offending was objectively serious.
Wilson pleaded guilty to intentionally causing injury, driving while disqualified and committing an indictable offence while on bail at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
He also pleaded guilty to family violence offending, burglary and criminal damage.
The family violence offending related to an incident when Wilson grabbed a hammer and hit the wall above a woman's head during an argument before slapping her face and body.
He used the hammer to break his way into the laundry where the woman ran to and trapped herself inside in an attempt to escape.
Ms Ellis said the burglary charge related to when Wilson broke into a home and used an axe to damage a kitchen cupboard inside.
"Even in the absence of the victims not being home, Your Honour can infer the complainants would have been terrified when they came home to see the damage to the property," she said.
"It is significant that this offending occurs whilst the accused is on bail, having been released into the community two months earlier."
Defence lawyer Manny Brennan said Wilson had problems with drug addiction since he was a teenager and was exposed to drugs and violence in the family home from a young age.
He said Wilson had been imprisoned in the past, but his rehabilitation had been inhibited by his father who encouraged him to use drugs after his release.
Mr Brennan said Wilson had much brighter prospects of rehabilitation now after attending a residential drug rehabilitation program and using those skills learnt to act in new ways.
He said he was well supported by his family, particularly his mother who he was living with.
The court heard Wilson had spent many months on remand for this offending and Mr Brennan asked for no further imprisonment to be imposed.
"In my submission given the hard work Mr Wilson has done whilst in rehab, it has restored his prospects for rehabilitation," he said.
Magistrate Letizia Torres said she needed time to decide on a sentence, but she indicated she was likely not to impose further imprisonment.
"Given you are 23-years-old, you spent the best part of 2020 in jail for this offending and you have made significant progress since I bailed you, in my view it would not be in your or the community's best interest to remove you from the community with the progress you are making," she said.
"You being drug free in the community is what everyone wants and needs from you."
Wilson will be assessed for a community corrections order and will return to court for sentencing next week.
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