A chef who ran off after he broke a man's jaw in a "stupid" one-punch attack at Canberra city says he didn't front up to authorities afterwards because he doesn't like police.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dylan Vardai, 27, has pleaded guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, but on Monday he disputed a prosecutor's claims he "coward punched" his victim.
A witness to the November 26, 2016 assault, which happened on London Circuit, told the ACT Supreme Court he distinctly remembered the victim's head hitting the pavement "pretty hard".
"[I remember] hearing the sound of that," the witness said on Monday.
"Some words were exchanged, one guy looked back the other way and got punched in the back of the head."
But on Tuesday, Acting Justice David Robinson found there wasn't enough evidence to support this version of events.
He said it was more likely the victim came up to the 27-year-old and they had an argument about Vardai's tattoo of his family name.
The judge said the pair's argument likely escalated to a point where Vardai lost control of his anger and punched the victim in the face.
"The Crown has been unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the complainant had disengaged the verbal argument and had turned his back on the offender," Acting Justice Robinson said.
The victim gave evidence on Monday he had no recollection of the assault, and could only remember waking up in Canberra Hospital afterwards with a broken jaw.
The judge's finding largely aligns with Vardai's own recollection.
On Monday, Vardai told the court he thought the victim was "trouble as soon as he came up to me".
Vardai said the man called his tattoo "stupid" and he replied "piss off, you wanker", before the man grabbed him by the shirt, lifted him up, and Vardai punched him in response.
"I should have just pushed him off," Vardai said.
"I'm regretful, just sorry that I ever did it."
Vardai said he fled the scene after he saw men, who he thought were the victim's friends, coming towards him from across the road.
He said his mother picked him up from the Canberra Institute of Technology after the incident.
Vardai denied seeing any media reports that police were looking for someone that matched his description after the assault, and said he only became aware they wanted to speak to him in 2018 during a search warrant.
When prosecutor Rebecca Christensen asked Vardai why he didn't hand himself into police, he said he was worried at the time and: "I just don't like police, I just didn't want to talk to them."
On Tuesday, Ms Christensen said Vardai should be sentenced to full-time imprisonment, while Mr Whybrow pushed for his client to be granted an intensive correction order.
An intensive correction order is a jail term served in the community rather than behind bars.
"[Vardai] hit somebody at [3am], saw someone drop down, saw people run towards him and ran away," Mr Whybrow said.
"He acted like a 23- or 24-year-old guy who had done something in Civic, didn't want to talk to police and kept his head in the sand."
Acting Justice Robinson said he would sentence Vardai next week.
Cassandra Morgan
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
It has never been more important for Canberrans to be able to access reliable and accurate information about health. As The Canberra Times’ health reporter, I am committed to ensuring our readers have access to this. I, like many in the territory, have family members who work in the sector. Although providing comprehensive coverage on the coronavirus pandemic is obviously my number one priority, I aim to frequently shed light on the fantastic work our frontline professionals do, as well as the challenges they face. Email me tips and story ideas at: c.morgan@canberratimes.com.au.
