A man has been jailed after he repeatedly punched, kicked and threatened another man in an episode of "vigilantism" that began in Canberra's north, but ended with the victim being dumped on the side of a road in NSW.
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Matthew Inder, 30, had already served nearly nine months on remand before being sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday to two years and eight months behind bars.
He will be eligible for release in October, when his 15-month non-parole period expires.
Inder and his victim were in dispute about who should pay a drug debt, and the issue came to a head on July 8 last year.
The victim turned up at Inder's Charnwood home to try and resolve the issue and was confronted by an aggressive Inder, who was wielding a baseball bat. There was no physical violence at that point.
Later that afternoon, the pair arranged to sort out the issue at a Melba home, and Inder arrived with two unidentified men in a stolen Mitsubishi Outlander.
Inder threw the victim to the ground and called him a "dumb c...", before repeatedly kicking and punching the man in the head, shoulders, back, legs, chest and groin for up to two minutes.
One of the unidentified men then ordered the victim to get into the stolen car, which headed north.
During an estimated 15-minute trip, Inder repeatedly threatened the victim, telling him he had two days to pay the disputed drug debt or he would hurt the victim and his family. Inder also warned the victim not to involve the police, and the unidentified men threatened to push the victim out of the car while it was moving.
When they stopped in Wallaroo, NSW, one of the unidentified men pulled the victim from the car and assaulted him. The victim was then abandoned on the side of the road.
Inder was arrested the following day and has been in custody ever since.
He initially pleaded not guilty to six charges, but after negotiations with prosecutors the charges were amended. He then pleaded guilty to making a demand with a threat and two counts of common assault.
Twenty-one months of the total sentence handed down by Acting Justice Lorraine Walker on Tuesday relate to the offences committed in July last year. The other 11 months were imposed as part of a resentencing for previous offences after Inder breached the terms of two suspended jail sentences.
Acting Justice Walker said there had been a degree of provocation behind Inder's July 2019 offending, because the victim had taunted him in the lead-up during discussions about the drug debt.
But the judge said Inder's choice to use violence in response to this "small" amount of provocation was "vastly disproportionate and inappropriate".
She said his actions involved a level of planning because he had arrived at the Melba address "in the presence of others acting as muscle".
"It speaks of vigilantism in the criminal world," Acting Justice Walker said.
The judge said that if passing drivers had not seen the victim and stopped to help him after he was dumped in NSW, Inder may never have been brought to justice.
She said the victim's comments to those passing drivers - including pleas for them not to contact police because he feared he would be killed - indicated the victim's genuine concern for his safety after what had occurred.
Acting Justice Walker also expressed concern about Inder's prospects for rehabilitation, given he had been disciplined for violence and had tested positive for illicit drugs since being remanded in custody at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
Inder was also removed from a drug rehabilitation program at the jail because of his alleged involvement in a drug "drop-off", which he continues to deny any role in.
But Acting Justice Walker noted Inder's willingness to take part in restorative justice, his positive employment prospects, and the support of his family, which includes his young daughter.
"If, as you have stated, you wish to be there for your daughter, you need to leave the life of drugs and violence behind you," Acting Justice Walker told Inder.