A man who claims he's "not someone who would harm animals" has seriously injured a dog by throwing it down a flight of concrete stairs.
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An X-ray of the dog's leg tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court "clearly shows a completely shattered bone", prosecutor Michael Gemmell said on Tuesday.
Daniel Grech, 34, appeared via audio-visual link from the Alexander Maconochie Centre for his sentence hearing.
He has admitted a number of charges, including aggravated cruelty to an animal, choking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and damaging property.
Grech, who the court heard had spent a large majority of the past eight years in custody, was formerly a known member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang.
His current gang status is unknown.
The offender's most serious charge is characterised by "causing serious injury" to an animal and occurred on an evening late last year.
The court heard the dog required three surgeries, costing a total of $15,000, after sustaining a broken femur.
Agreed facts state Grech became "aggravated" and started "going off" when a woman attempted to get his attention by throwing a small pebble in his direction.
The man eventually pushed that woman and caused her to fall down while he argued with another, before he ripped a television off a wall and smashed it on the ground.
Grech then picked up the small dog belonging to the first woman, placed it in one hand at shoulder height, and "proceeded to hurl [the dog] in a downwards motion down the flight of concrete stairs".
Mr Gemmell described Grech's actions as "completely unnecessary" and said the offender's intentions were to seriously injure the dog.
"This is a particularly serious example of the offence," the prosecutor said.
The court also heard the victim had been "fearful of repercussion".
"Her fears were not misplaced. They were real and, unfortunately, they were later realised," Mr Gemmell said.
About a month later, Grech sought out and again assaulted the victim, choking her with two hands and later punching her in the mouth, causing her lip to split.
Legal Aid lawyer Jan de Bruin said his client had expressed remorse about what occurred on the night of offending which included the animal cruelty.
"He can't offer an explanation for this conduct except to say he's not someone who would harm animals and he can't explain why it happened," Dr de Bruin said.
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The court heard Grech was engaging with programs in prison, including one targeting aggression, which the defence lawyer described as a "glimmer of hope".
"It looks like he wants to do the right thing," Dr de Bruin said.
Grech has paid $2116 towards the dog's medical treatment but the prosecutor asked the court to consider ordering him to pay the remaining costs in reparations to the victim.
Magistrate Jane Campbell told Grech she was unable to hand down a decision on Tuesday after she said the court faced "quite a complicated sentence".
Complications included the offender's long history of parole cancellations.
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Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
