Club attack breached NSW parole
A MAN had been released on parole for less than four months when he and three others suddenly attacked a man leaving a Gold Coast nightclub.
Jesse James Brix was not even supposed to be in the state with his parole conditions restricting him from leaving NSW.
Brix pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court yesterday to multiple charges including grievous bodily harm and entering a dwelling to commit an indictable offence.
The 26-year-old was sentenced to three years’ prison and will be released on parole on October 18 this year.
Crown prosecutor Michael Mitchell told the court the victim was leaving a Surfers Paradise
nightclub about 2am on August 18 last year when Brix and three others “set upon him”.
“Brix was the last of the four to approach,” he said.
The court was told the victim was punched and kicked by all four men, leaving him with displaced nasal bone, septum and right nasal features.
“He underwent surgery and titanium plates were inserted,” Mr Mitchell said. “Without treatment he would have had ongoing issues.”
Mr Mitchell said Brix was released on parole from a NSW prison in May last year where he was serving a sentence for a robbery. Under conditions of his parole he was not supposed to leave the state without permission.
Judge Katherine McGinness said the attack and the aftermath must have upsetting for the victim.
“It was a vicious attack with a large group of you,” she said.
“You were on parole and it was at night time and it was in public. The injury was not trivial and required surgery and plates.”
Judge McGinness described Brix’s criminal history as “concerning” and “consistent with long term drug abuse and addiction”.
Defence barrister Sarah Thompson, instructed by Bamberry Lawyers, said Brix had been in the foster system since he was two where he suffered physical and sexual abuse.
She said he now had significant mental health problems.
Upon his release Brix will be transferred to NSW where a warrant is out for him for breaching his parole. been