Glen Michael Calnan to be sentenced for attack on dodgy car repairer

An “entirely misguided” father stormed a workplace and threw a metal chair at a man because he had been ripping people off with car repairs, a court has heard.

A vigilante group attacked a man, leaving him with nerve damage in his hand, because he hadn’t been completing car repairs, a court has heard.

Glen Michael Calnan, 44, made the “worst decision” of his life by taking the law into his own hands.

Isabelle Kimber, for the prosecution, told the Adelaide District Court Calnan was the “negotiator or facilitator” and would refer people who needed work done on their cars to the victim.

The court heard Calnan attended the victim’s Annadale workshop on September 29, 2020 with his two co-accused after sending him messages encouraging him to complete his unfinished work.

“It’s clear that the defendant was immediately aggressive towards the complainant about the progress of the work on the cars as soon as he arrived,” Ms Kimber said.

“The defendant then closed the sliding door to the complainant’s shed and the complainant said that this blocked the view of the CCTV cameras on the outside to the inside.”

Calnan then picked up a metal frame chair and threw it at the victim.

The victim put up his hands to protect himself and the chair struck him, causing an injury to his hand.

Ms Kimber said the victim suffered nerve damage and has been significantly affected by the incident.

Glen Calnan will be sentenced in August for assault causing harm. Photo: Thinkstock

The Greenock father pleaded guilty to assault causing harm.

Martin Anders, for Calnan, told the court his offending stemmed from his desire to help others but accepted it was “entirely misguided” and an “extraordinary mistake”.

“The attendance at the complainant’s workshop … is described by the defendant as literally the worst decision he has made in his life,” he said.

“He didn’t have ownership or any interest in any of the cars that were held by the complainant.”

Mr Anders said the victim was a suspect in four to five different thefts or deceptions in relation to taking people’s cars for repairs and not returning them.

“This man was receiving people’s cars, he wasn’t affecting repairs,” he said.

The man has not been charged with any wrong-doing.

The court heard Calnan, who is a father-of-two, works in car repairs and restoration.

“He has really wreaked havoc on his family’s life and his reputation,” he said.

“He felt embarrassed having put this man’s name forward and really he hadn’t done … any appropriate due diligence.

“That was a mistake and a mistake that he should have let rest.”

Judge Heath Barklay will sentence Calnan in August.