Jail term for CBD fight

A 21-YEAR-OLD man who punched two men on the street during an altercation outside a Toowoomba nightclub has been handed a jail sentence and ordered to pay $5000 compensation to one of his victims.

Kody John William McGahan and Connor Edward Michael Purcell were both 19 and out in Toowoomba’s CBD late on September 5, 2020, when they became involved in an argument relating to an earlier incident involving friends outside the Cube Hotel, Toowoomba District Court heard.

The two complainant men, aged 20 and 21 at the time, had walked south on Neil St where they bumped into McGahan and Purcell at the bus interchange and the four engaged in a verbal argument, the court heard.

In CitySafe camera footage of the incident that was played to the court, McGahan is seen to strike out and punch one man and then the other, both of whom fell to the ground.

One of the men got up and shaped up to Purcell, who punched him in retaliation, before McGahan moved in and punched him again to the face, the footage showed.

McGahan and Purcell then seek to walk off without stopping to render assistance to the two injured men.

Crown prosecutor Emily Coley told the court both complainant men were taken to Toowoomba Hospital.

One of the victims had sustained a broken nose and cheek bone which required surgery to correct while the other had a bleeding nose and abrasions, she said.

The man who required surgery had provided a victim impact statement in which he said he was out of pocket $6000 due to the incident in lost wages and medical bills.

At an earlier court appearance, Purcell pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm in company and was fined $1500 and ordered to pay $1000 compensation with no conviction recorded.

McGahan on Thursday pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one of assault occasioning bodily harm in company.

His barrister Frank Martin told the court his client had provided a letter of apology to the court and had placed $5000 in trust to be handed to the victim as compensation.

His client had no criminal history, he said.

Judge Katherine McGuinness accepted it was out of character for McGahan but a serious offence just the same.

She sentenced him to 12 months in jail but ordered the term be wholly suspended for 15 months and ordered he pay $5000 compensation.