Man jailed for attack on 75-year-old

An Ashburton man has been jailed for unleashing a barrage of punches on a 75-year-old man and breaking his ankle with a coffee table.

The victim suffered a small subdural haematoma, facial bruising and swelling to the left side of his face, and required surgery for his broken right ankle.

He spent 18 days bedridden in Ashburton and Christchurch hospitals.

Daniel Joseph Patrick Leahy, 28, was sentenced to 23 months’ imprisonment for the assault when he appeared before Judge Joanna Maze in the Timaru District Court yesterday, having pleaded guilty to injuring with intent to injure and two unrelated charges of male assaults female and intimidation.

The victim and his wife, parents of Leahy’s brother-in-law, were investigating a confrontation between the defendant and their son when he was attacked at his home address on Peter St, Ashburton, about 8pm on February 7, 2019.

‘‘Daniel Leahy immediately punched the complainant in the head, knocking him to the ground. He continued hitting him in the face, head, ribs, and feet while on the ground,’’ Crown prosecutor Helen Bennett said in a police summary of facts presented to the court.

‘‘Daniel Leahy then picked up a coffee table and threw it at the complainant, landing on his ankle.’’

While on bail for the assault, Leahy attacked and threatened to kill a woman he had been in a ‘‘casual relationship’’ with for about a month after spending the night at her Ashburton address on April 30, Bennett said.

Leahy reacted with hostility when the woman told him she would be spending the day in Christchurch, punching her in the face after she walked onto the road to await associates who were picking her up.

She fell to the ground and he kicked her hip, Bennett said.

‘‘As a result of the brutal assault, the complainant suffered minor bleeding to the inside of her nose.’’

Leahy told her: ‘‘You know what I’m here to do. I’m going to stab you.’’

Her associates arrived and she sprinted to their vehicle, Leahy in hot pursuit.

He yelled: ‘‘I’m going to go back to the house and get a gun and kill you.’’

He chased the vehicle on his motorcycle but eventually fell behind, Bennett said.

Leahy addressed the court on Friday, saying he was trying to better himself for the community and had a job lined up for when he was released from prison.

‘‘I don’t want to be in jail for the rest of my life.’’

Defence lawyer Paul Bradford said Leahy had completed drug and anger management courses in his efforts to reintegrate into the community.

‘‘Daniel clearly has insight, in my view, and certainly wants to make more of himself than he has in the past,’’ Bradford said.

Judge Maze convicted Leahy, remitted his fines and enforcement fees, and reminded him he had $10,800 outstanding in reparation for previous matters.

‘‘Leahy immediately punched the complainant in the head, knocking him to the ground. He continued hitting him in the face, head, ribs, and feet while on the ground.’’

Crown prosecutor Helen Bennett