A 17-year-old youth faced court yesterday over two terrifying assaults in which he punched an 80-year-old man 40 times and hit a woman before running at police with a hammer.
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The policeman was forced to draw his gun and the youth was doused with capsicum spray to subdue him, a court was told.
The teen, who appeared in a children’s court and cannot be named, was convicted of assaulting the elderly man and placed on a 12-month youth attendance order.
The court heard that the attack on the 80-year-old victim happened at night on April 28 at Warrnambool’s Pickering Point after the youth had asked him for money. When the man refused, he was punched between 40-50 times, causing cuts and bruising to his head.
A second incident occurred on May 12 after the youth’s de facto partner said she wanted to end their relationship.
The youth had pushed his de facto to the ground and raised his fist to her before a friend of the de facto intervened.
The youth punched his de facto’s friend to the face and head numerous times and threatened to stab her if she called police.
He left the scene and later made threats on the phone to kill police and his de facto.
A police prosecutor said the youth had charged at police armed with a hammer and a knuckleduster while making threats to kill.
The threats prompted one police officer to draw his gun and the youth was sprayed with capsicum spray to subdue him, the prosecutor said.
He said the youth had told police he was drunk and did not know what he was doing when he assaulted the old man.
The defence counsel for the youth said his client had also been greatly affected by alcohol when he had assaulted his de facto and her friend and had not been able to control his anger.
The court heard the youth had spent 45 days in custody since the offences.
The magistrate placed the youth on a 12-month youth attendance order that requires him to attend at regular times at a youth justice centre and ordered him to live with his mother, warning the youth that if he re-offended during the 12-month order he would be “doing some time’’.
