Serial traffic offender Justin Monfries has been jailed for beating up his partner on two occasions, four months apart, while on bail and coming down from drugs.
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Magistrate Bernadette Boss said the 24-year-old’s behaviour had “come to a point where the community needs some level of protection from you”.
She jailed Monfries for 13 months this afternoon for two counts of common assault, describing his domestic abuse as crimes which “cannot be condoned by this court”.
In January this year Monfries grabbed his partner of several years by the throat and pinned her against a wall, shouting verbal abuse.
He was taken into custody and bailed, but in April he attacked the woman again, this time in view of witnesses.
He pushed the victim to the ground and got on top of her before punching her two or three times to the back of the head.
“Regrettably it has suddenly been brought home to everybody by the tragic death of a young man in King’s Cross, an innocent young man, a simple blow to the head can cause death,” Dr Boss said.
Monfries has an extensive criminal history, but one mostly consisting of driving matters.
He has been held on remand since May on unrelated charges.
The court heard the defendant had a troubled child-hood and a long-standing drug abuse problem, but had made no attempt to address his addiction.
In interviews with the authors of a pre-sentence report Monfries showed no remorse for his actions.
The court also heard he admitted faking a suicide attempt so he could get moved from the Alexander Maconochie Centre to the psychiatric services unit.
But he has been diagnosed with bipolar and asperger syndrome, and his lawyer Sarah Boxall said her client’s mental health might have explained his apparent lack of remorse.
The magistrate said the question of Monfries’ remorse, or lack thereof, was “somewhat vexed”.
Dr Boss noted, however, other people in the community with aspergers or bipolar did not “generally go out and commit offences”.
She said the man’s conditions were “no excuse” for his behaviour.
But the magistrate also took into account his pleas of guilty.
Taking into account time served Monfries will be eligible for release in April, although he is currently on remand for other offences.
