Jailbird brutally bashes and robs his own father
A terrified Queensland father “thought he was going to lose his life” as his own son and two accomplices invaded his home, tied him up, bashed him and ransacked his property, a court has heard.
Gladstone
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A jailbird who brutally bashed his biological father and left him with broken facial bones after drinking 12 cans of Jack Daniels has been described by a judge as having ‘led a lawless life’.
Zachariah John Hewitt, now 31, broke into his father Jamie John Hewitt’s Ambrose house with two other people and brutally bashed him before driving off with many of his valuables on August 4, 2020.
Crown prosecutor Evan O’Hanlon-Rose told the Gladstone District Court on September 13, 2021 that Sean Richard Watson, Hewitt, and a third alleged offender drove to Hewitt’s father’s place and invaded his home at 11am.
Mr O’Hanlon-Rose said Hewitt accused his dad of stealing $70,000, but he denied it.
Hewitt then lashed out and started punching him, and another man from the trio allegedly joined in.
Hewitt then directed the other man to tie up his father and kept punching him and demanding money, car keys and guns, although the court later heard that it wasn’t alleged that there were any firearms involved.
“They ransacked the house before cutting the complainant loose in order to make him fix a bumper bar to the complainant’s own ute,” Mr O’Hanlon-Rose said.
“While that was occurring, they were loading valuables into vehicles.”
Hewitt and his assailants stripped the house of valuables before leaving in two vehicles, including the father’s ute.
Mr O’Hanlon-Rose said it was discovered the father suffered a fractured nasal and left maxillary bone when checked up by the hospital.
The father told police two days later and Hewitt was arrested in an Airbnb on August 11.
“Unsurprisingly, the complainant speaks of the terror of the ordeal. He thought he was going to lose his life that day,” Mr O’Hanlon-Rose said.
Mr O’Hanlon-Rose told the court Hewitt had a lengthy criminal history and had been sentenced in the Queensland courts 19 times, including two in District and one in Supreme.
“The community must be protected from his recidivism,” he said.
Hewitt’s defence barrister Scott Moon said his client grew up in allegedly abusive foster care and lived between there and with his father.
The court heard that Mr Moon was instructed that there was a civil claim regarding the foster care.
“He developed ill-feelings towards his father in the way he was treated throughout his childhood and into his adolescence and into adulthood,” Mr Moon said.
He told the court his father was (allegedly) into the drug scene and beat him as a child.
Hewitt completed only two weeks of high school and only had very brief work, including in a panel and paint job.
Mr Moon said Hewitt started smoking marijuana at age 10 or 11 and eventually started injecting meth.
“He consumed about 12 cans of Jack Daniels,” Mr Moon said.
He said Hewitt was under the influence of alcohol and affected by meth at the time, but Mr Moon told the court this was not an excuse.
Hewitt apologised to the court through Mr Moon, just in case anyone heard him yell or scream while in the watch-house.
Judge Jeff Clarke said Hewitt had a ‘simply appalling’ criminal history, mainly of drugs and dishonesty, and had nine burglary convictions.
“Your traffic history confirms that you have simply lived a lawless life,” he said.
Judge Clarke said it seemed to him to be a sustained, prolonged, vicious and violent attack on a vulnerable person.
“He refers to it in his victim impact statement as being ‘callous’ and ‘gutless’.”
Hewitt pleaded guilty to deprivation of liberty (domestic violence), robbery in company with personal violence (DV), burglary in company (DV), and 10 summary offences including two disqualified driving charges.
Judge Clarke sentenced him to a head sentence of five years imprisonment for the burglary and deprivation of liberty, which will run concurrently with his other imprisonments.
He was also sentenced to a cumulative three year prison sentence for the robbery and was given an absolute licence disqualification for the disqualified driving offences.
He was convicted and not further punished for the other summary charges. All convictions were recorded.
Judge Clarke granted him immediate eligibility for parole.
Watson was sentenced to five years and eight months imprisonment on July 30, 2021.
The man alleged to be the third co-accused will have his matter heard at a later date.