A Portland man rammed another man’s car because he believed a dog ate his chickens, a court was told.
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Peter Benter, 52, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to criminal damage, three counts of failing to appear in court and driving-related offences
He was convicted and fined $800.
His driver’s licence was disqualified for two-years.
Lawyer Amanda Chambers said her client had consumed about eight heavy beers before the dispute on November 4, 2017 but had since reduced his drinking.
She said the victim was a panel beater passing through the area and there was no likelihood of the incident happening again.
She said her client had suffered a heart attack in 2017 and had undergone significant heart surgery.
Benter was at a private property in Portland when he became upset, stating that his chickens had been killed by the victim’s dog.
The victim told Mr Benter that it was likely a fox killed the chickens.
Benter became angry and jumped into a motor vehicle before ramming the victim’s Mitsubishi Triton utility, causing minor damage.
Police attended the property.
Benter returned a positive breath test of 0.129.
He was summonsed to appear in court in April but didn’t appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Then on June 7 he was arrested and bailed with the condition he pay a $200 surety.
But Benter failed to appear in court on two other occasions and the surety was forfeited.
He was arrested on December 20 and appeared in court later that day.