No jail for pub assault for now

A Launceston man who unleashed punches on a bystander during an alcoholinduced rage has avoided jail, but has been warned he faces imprisonment if he does not change his ways.

Nathan Troy Binns, 41, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including one count of common assault. He appeared in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Thursday for sentencing.

Tasmania Police said that on December 1, 2023, about 2.30pm, Binns was in the Kingsway in Launceston with a group of youths.

The court heard one of the youths was attempting to smash a security tag off a Kathmandu jacket when a man confronted the group and asked if they had stolen the jacket.

The court heard that Binns pushed the man and then punched him multiple times in the head. The police prosecutor said the man received bruising to his head but was not seriously injured.

Binns’ defence counsel said he had consumed a significant quantity of alcohol on the day of the assault. The defence said Binns understood alcohol was a contributing factor in his offending and he began a clinical alcohol detox program a week after the assault.

The court heard Binns had a history of alcohol abuse beginning when he was 15, which he used as a mechanism to deal with past trauma.

Magistrate Simon Brown, noting that Binns had made attempts to rectify his behaviour, adjourned sentencing for Binns for six months and said he would review his progress on May 30.

“Whether you go to jail or not will depend entirely on you,” he said. “If you do not continue on this path (the detox program), you will almost certainly go to prison.

“You are the author of where you end up.”