A man has been jailed for 4½ years and faces deportation to New Zealand after he punched two men and left them with lifelong injuries in separate drunken incidents in Mandurah.
Logan Dickson, 26, was found guilty in the District Courthouse on January 18 after punching one man repeatedly and coward punching another. Both incidents were caught on CCTV.
Defense lawyer Anthony Sullivan told the court that Dickson did not remember the first incident on April 5, 2015, when he hit Matthew Robertson repeatedly on the ground during a street argument at 4.45am. Mr Robertson was later found near the Old Mandurah Traffic Bridge.
Prosecutor James Newton-Palmer told the court that the incident caused Mr Robertson to lose part of his smell and feeling in his lower-lip and chin.
Mr Robertson suffered from frequent headaches and emotional issues due to the attack.
One year later, on March 11, 2016, Dickson punched 42-year-old Edward Whalley in Players Bar with such force that he sustained bleeding to the brain and issues with speech, sight and balance.
I’ve already noted it’s unfortunate when it takes to this point to get a wake-up call but he has had that wake-up call
- Lawyer Anthony Sullivan
Mr Whalley was in the Mandurah nightclub on his birthday arguing with another man before Dickson interfered and punched him so hard his head hit the ground and he fell unconscious.
When dealing with Dickson’s sentence, District Court Judge Michael Bowden emphasised the consequences of a coward punch.
“If you resort to violence and you throw a punch at somebody and they fall the wrong way and die, you end up being charged with either murder or manslaughter,” he said. “And quite often it’s not the force of the punch but it’s the fact that the person is propelled to the ground and hits their head.”
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Mr Sullivan told the court that Dickson was a changed man who had quit alcohol and cared for his long-term partner and child.
Dickson also had trouble dealing with his father’s death and was bullied in school, he said.
“I’ve already noted it’s unfortunate when it takes to this point to get a wake-up call but he has had that wake-up call,” he said.
Dickson is eligible for parole after serving 2½ years in of his sentence in prison.
Carla Hildebrandt
Journalist at the Mandurah Mail
Journalist at the Mandurah Mail
