A Canberra man who confronted the driver of his stolen Valiant was left hanging onto the vehicle by a baseball bat lodged through the windscreen, before being flung from the bonnet, a court has heard.
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The Valiant Ranger XL had belonged to the victim's dead brother, who had intended to restore the car. When his brother died, the victim took on the sentimental vehicle.
The car was outside the victim's home on December 15, 2016, when he left for work but when he returned it was gone.
The victim got word that the Valiant had been seen in Phillip so he and a friend went to look for it, taking a wooden bat to defend himself.
They found the Valiant and followed it to a unit complex in Narrabundah. The victim approached the car and said to the driver Christopher Hawkins "You've f---ed up mate, this is my car, it's stolen." Hawkins replied: "I've just bought the car."
He restarted the Valiant and was trying to put it in gear when the victim thrust the bat through the driver's side window and struck Hawkins' forehead.
He began to drive forward and the victim swung himself onto the bonnet of the car to avoid being hit. As the car gathered speed the victim decided it was too dangerous for him to jump off, so he hit the front windscreen to make a hole in the glass then pushed the bat through, using it as a grip to stay on the bonnet.
Hawkins drove out of the car park while the victim yelled at him to stop. He drove until he came to an intersection, then drove on the wrong side of the traffic island and swerved the Valiant several times. He then suddenly braked, and the victim was thrown from the bonnet onto the road. Hawkins drove off.
The next day police recovered the car from a driveway of a home in Narrabundah. The victim had surgery for a broken leg.
Hawkins, who was 25 at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm, driving unlicenced, speeding and dishonestly driving a car without consent.
"The prosecution submitted that the attack by the victim was not a 'vigilante' action as initially suggested by counsel for the accused, but rather a lawful assault in defence of property," Justice Loukas-Karlsson said in sentencing remarks published last week.
"I agree with the submission of the prosecution in this regard as it accords with my view."
Hawkins is already serving a term of nearly five years in prison for separate offences. He has a significant criminal history.
He was sentenced last month to one year and four months in jail for the driving offences, and fined $500. Justice Loukas-Karlsson also set three years on the existing non-parole period.
He will be eligible for release December 2021.
