Killer’s prison rioting
THE teenager who killed a Norlane man last year had his jail term extended yesterday after admitting to a key role in two riots at Barwon Prison.
Now 19, he was one of 16 youngsters transported to the Grevillea unit of the adult jail under an ill-fated youth detention quick-fix by the State Government earlier this year.
Little more than a month after the Supreme Court overruled the decision to send the juveniles to Barwon Prison, the teen was jailed for eight years — as a child — by the same court for the June 2016 stabbing of Norlane family man Nathan Gent.
THE teenager who killed a Norlane man last year had his jail term extended yesterday after admitting to a key role in two riots at Barwon Prison.
Now 19, he was one of 16 youngsters transported to the Grevillea unit of the adult jail under an ill-fated youth detention quick-fix by the State Government earlier this year.
Little more than a month after the Supreme Court overruled the decision to send the juveniles to Barwon, the teen was jailed for eight years — as a child — by the same court for the June 2016 stabbing manslaughter of Norlane family man Nathan Gent.
The sentence has a nonparole period of four years and nine months, but Magistrate Michael Coghlan yesterday added three months to the stretch after the teen admitted taking part in prison riots.
Mr Coghlan heard the teen was now in an adult division at Barwon Prison, but struggled during his 174-day detention at Grevillea, attempting suicide many times.
The court also heard he took part in the riots to “stake his claim” and elevate himself in the prison “pecking order”.
The first riot happened in a yard on January 2, days after the Government gazetted the Grevillea unit as a youth detention facility.
The defendant repeatedly hit a fellow prisoner to the head before ripping off his shirt and punching a prison officer in the face, and assaulting other staff members.
Prosecutor Senior Sergeant Steve Iddles said it prompted a series of assaults to “break out”.
The officer punched suffered concussion and bruising, but did not tender a victim impact statement.
Sen-Sgt Iddles said “tensions were running high in the Grevillea unit” when the next riot happened at 6.30pm on February 13.
It started inside with prisoners throwing chairs at staff, but moved into the exercise yard after OC spray was used.
Over the next three hours the prisoners pulled pipes from walls and broke into the visitor centre, causing $395,000 worth of damage and stealing food and drink.
Sen-Sgt Iddles said the defendant was an instigator, presenting photos to the court of his actions.
Defence lawyer Andrew Zingler pointed to Justice John Dixon’s damning findings about the use of Grevillea for child detention as evidence of the hardship and stress his client endured.
Mr Zingler said the 16 inmates were frequently locked away for 23 hours a day, with limited access to the outdoors on arrival at Grevillea.
“(The defendant) attempted suicide up to a dozen times at that location . . . (and) struggled in that environment,” he said. “The very nature of the physical environment was not designed for children, and that ultimately was proven by the number of suicide attempts.
“It bred a powder keg situation . . . things exploded on these two occasions.”
But Mr Coghlan noted the teenager was an technically an adult at the time, unlike most co-offenders. He said the judge who presided over the manslaughter trial moderated the sentence because of the “unduly harsh conditions” he had suffered on remand.
The teenager pleaded guilty to two counts of affray, unlawful assault, criminal damage, burglary and theft, Mr Zingler asking his existing release date remain the same.
But Mr Coghlan said extra jail was warranted, imprisoning him for six months, three of them cumulative to his present sentence.
“Nobody wants to see prisoners do as they please, and think they should only have concurrent sentences imposed,” he said.
“You were in prison, not staying in some sort of holiday accommodation.”