A PORTLAND man charged in relation to four assault-related incidents will today start a six-week jail sentence.
Maxwell Vincent McKenzie, 34, of Wattle Grove, appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court yesterday for a contest mention on four briefs of police evidence. He was seeking a sentence indication from magistrate Ron Saines.
Police alleged that on July 18 last year there was an incident involving McKenzie and a former partner at the Portland Centrelink office.
In July last year, the woman had been sitting at a computer when she was approached by McKenzie in an aggressive manner. He was alleged to have confronted her twice and knocked sunglasses from her head.
On September 19 last year, McKenzie, another woman, her 15-year-old daughter and a friend attended the home of the woman’s former partner.
The woman and her ex-partner argued, McKenzie approached the man in an aggressive manner, pushed the man to the chest and a further argument developed. McKenzie was alleged to have pushed the man over, with the victim falling and hitting his head on concrete. He had told the man to take the incident as a warning. It had happened in front of a boy, 12, and girl, 15.
Police also alleged that in November last year, McKenzie told his current partner he wanted to end the relationship. At 3.30pm on November 10, McKenzie was alleged to have grabbed her hair and punched her to the head, chest and arms several times.
At 2.30am the next day, McKenzie went to his former partner’s home in breach of bail conditions.
McKenzie had then grabbed a knife and cut his own left wrist. The woman’s daughter ran to a neighbour’s home to call police.
Officers arrested McKenzie. He was remanded in custody but continually spat on the lens of a security camera. When the camera was wiped clean, Mr McKenzie smeared blood on the lens, verbally abused a police sergeant and then struck out at the officer with an open hand.
Defence counsel Xavier Farrelly said McKenzie had a reputation around Portland as a drug user, which his client strenuously denied.
McKenzie has been employed on fishing boats, was a Portland mental health services client and his partner was now pregnant. Mr Farrelly said his client was also seriously assaulted while being held in remand for 48 days.
Mr Saines said McKenzie had eight pages of prior convictions and he had been repeatedly jailed in the past dozen years.
He said each of the four incidents involved intimidation and violence, some which were allegedly committed in front of children.
Mr Saines said that no sentence other than imprisonment was appropriate.
The sentence indication was a total effective sentence of six months’ imprisonment, with three months of that term to be suspended for two years.
After the indication, McKenzie entered guilty pleas to a range of assault charges.
Due to time already served, McKenzie will serve about six weeks in prison before being eligible for release. He will be sentenced today and start his jail term immediately.
