Picnic gets the shove
Court told elderly trio assaulted at park
A NORTH Geelong man has denied destroying a peaceful Sunday picnic at Eastern Gardens by punching, kicking and pushing three elderly men.
Damian Giustini, 43, appeared in Geelong Magistrates’ Court yesterday, accused of assaulting the men, aged 82, 78 and 76, on February 25.
The trio went to the gardens with their wives and were laying out a tarpaulin, when Mr Giustini allegedly approached them, accusing them of damaging a public rotunda by pegging their temporary structure to it.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Kerrie Moroney said the accused punched the 76-year-old man in the head twice, forcing him to fall to the ground, where he was kicked to the ribs, sustained a broken wrist and had his glasses broken.
The 82-year-old was also allegedly punched, while the 78-year-old stumbled backwards when it is said he was pushed by the accused man.
Mr Giustini left the scene in his Holden Cruz but returned soon after, by which time police were present, having received a number of calls about the alleged assault.
Interviewed at the Geelong Police Station, the accused man said the damage caused to the rotunda made him “angry”, admitting he was learning to control his “nasty temper”.
But he added, “I feel my actions were justified”, and his lawyer Chris McCoy reiterated his defence yesterday.
“We say (he) didn’t punch anyone,” Mr McCoy said.
“The attack was initiated by the old people. They started pushing, my client pushed back, and some of the old people fell backwards.
“He was acting always in self-defence.”
With the matter in dispute, Mr Giustini will return to Geelong Magistrates’ Court on January 25 for a contested hearing, where he will face charges of recklessly causing injury, assault by kicking and three counts of assault.
The court heard the wives of the alleged victims had gone for a walk at the time of the confrontation and did not witness it, but the three men and two independent bystanders would likely be called to give evidence at the hearing.