A Bunbury man has been sentenced to 13 months in prison after a one punch attack in the CBD in June 2016.
Jeffrey Archie Humphries, 26, punched a 56-year-old man once to the head at 3.21am on Sunday, June 26 after a night of drinking with his family.
The victim was knocked unconscious by the blow, falling backwards and hitting his head on the pavement at the corner of Symmons Street and Victoria Street.
Bunbury Magistrates Court was shown CCTV footage of the attack on Friday morning. The video showed Humphries land a right-handed punch to the victims jaw and walk calmly from the scene without checking on his victim.
Prosecutor Sergeant Barry Phelps told the court the victim was visiting Bunbury from Queensland and was flown to Royal Perth Hospital to treat bleeding on his brain.
Defence lawyer Michael Joubert told the court his client had been grabbed on the genitals by the victim while they were both in Bunbury’s Exit Nightclub earlier in the evening which prompted the assault.
Magistrate Evan Shackleton asked to hear more information about the alleged contact between the two men.
During the sentencing hearing, Humphries said he was intoxicated when he arrived at the nightclub and approached the bar to order more drinks.
“While waiting for my drinks he was on my right and he grabbed my prick firmly,” he said.
“I looked down to see what was happening and pushed him away.
“When I asked him why he did that he ignored me.”
Humphries told the court security could see he was getting angry and asked the victim to leave the venue. Humphries was then asked to leave about four minutes later.
Sergeant Phelps said police did not find any witnesses who could describe the incident in the bar the way Mr Humphries did and tendered any contact between the two men was likely to have been inadvertent.
“It seems to me you took a dislike to him and pursued him outside the club to sort him out,” Sergeant Phelps said.
“If I was sober I wouldn’t have done what I done,” Humphries responded.
Magistrates Shackleton said he did not accept Humphries version of events because his evidence lacked facts, but he accepted Humphries believed something had occurred between the two men.
At the time of the attack, Humphries was on an eight month suspended imprisonment order for assaulting an umpire at the 2015 South West Football League grand final day.
On that day, Humphries walked onto the field after the reserves grand final between Eaton and Carey Park and told 24-year-old umpire Brenton Bartlett that the “umpiring was shithouse”.
He admitted punching Mr Bartlett to the face which left him with a blood nose and a split lip.
WATCH: Police were forced to intervene in a number of violent incidents at the 2015 SWFL grand finals.
Mr Joubert said intensive media coverage of the football attack had “humiliated and embarrassed” his client who had also been given a lifetime ban from attending football games which was a passion of his.
Magistrate Shackleton said the two incidents were similar in nature, often victims of a one punch attack die and imprisonment was the only appropriate course of action open to him in sentencing Humphries.
He acknowledged Humphries has spent the last seven months in prison and sentenced him to a further 13 months in jail for the two attacks. He will be eligible for parole.