Wade Waia pleads guilty to robbery and assault for Bundaberg West mugging gone wrong

A violent thief who continued to attack a gymgoer after he fell to the ground then unleashed on a dog-walking witness who was trying to step in, could have killed or caused brain damage to his victims, a court has heard.

Waide Waia tried to steal a man’s gym bag stomped on his victim’s head and threatened to kill the dog of a bystander who came to the rescue.

A mugging gone wrong escalated to a brawl outside a Bundaberg gym with the thief stomping on one victim’s head and engaging in a fist fight with a “good Samaritan” who came to save him.

Wade Waia, 22, pleaded guilty in Bundaberg District Court to attempted robbery and assault occasioning bodily harm.

Crown prosecutor Hannah Mangione told the court the target of Wade’s attempted robbery left a Bundaberg West gym carrying a duffel bag at around 10pm on one night in July 2022.

As he was walking home, Wade, who had been drinking alcohol and was heavily intoxicated, approached the victim and asked what was in the duffel bag, the court heard.

The victim told Wade the bag contained his gym clothes, and Wade then demanded the bag from the victim.

When the victim refused to give Wade the bag and kept walking, Wade followed him and struck him in the back of the head, causing the victim to fall to the ground.

The victim began to shout for help, with Wade continuing to demand the bag and punching the victim while he laid on the ground and at one point, stomping on the side of the victim’s head.

While Wade was assaulting the first victim, another man who was walking his dog nearby heard the commotion and came to his aid, putting himself between Wade and the victim.

Wade punched the second victim in the face and threatened to kill his dog, then circled around him as if to goad him into a fight and punched him in the mouth.

Wade then fled the scene.

The first victim sustained facial swelling and bruises and a laceration to the head, and the second victim sustained bruises to his temple, swelling under his left eye and a split lip, the court heard.

Wade Waia, 22, pleaded guilty in Bundaberg District Court to attempted robbery and assault occasioning bodily harm.

Police picked up Wade nearby but were unable to interview him due to his heavy intoxication.

Wade’s defence barrister Liam Dollar told the court when police tried to interview him the next day Wade had completely forgotten everything about the incident.

Mr Dollar told the court his client had been raised in an environment surrounded by alcohol and violence, and began binge drinking at a young age while also using cannabis and ice.

An Indigenous man who was not raised within his traditional culture, Wade sought to obtain guidance and a connection to his culture through participation in groups at the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre, Mr Dollar said.

When asked by Judge Leanne Clare if he had anything to say, Wade said “I’m sorry for what happened to those people, and if you give me a chance to change, I will change”.

Judge Clare told Wade he had used “substantial violence” in his offending, and he was lucky he had not inflicted lasting physical harm on the two victims.

“You could have caused brain damage, or even death; a single punch to the head of someone can kill,” she said.

Judge Clare ordered Wade serve two years imprisonment, with a parole eligibility date on February 22, 2024 taking into account time already served in pre-sentence custody.

Wade was convicted of one count of attempted robbery and two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm.

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