Tin Can Bay man bashes family friend over a skateboard

The 26-year-old kicked and punched the family friend because he thought he had stolen the skateboard off him

Dylan Ross Byriel pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm in Gympie Magistrates Court after he kicked and punched a man he thought had stolen his skateboard.

BELIEVING a family friend had stolen his skateboard, Dylan Ross Byriel thought there was only one course of action to be taken.

So on January 19, Byriel confronted the man, pushing him over and kicking and punching him when he was on the ground.

It was a course of action that took him to Gympie Magistrates Court this week charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, and facing the possibility of ending the year behind bars.

The assault charge was one of three crimes Byriel pleaded guilty to in court, including breaching bail and possessing a smoke bomb.

The assault, which ended when the victim stumbled to his feet and ran away, scratching and scraping himself in the process, was one of three charges the Tin Can Bay man pleaded guilty to, along with breaching bail and possessing a smoke bomb on January 2, at Pialba.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan was left to ask the question: “why didn’t you go to the police and say I think this man has stolen my skateboard?”

Byriel, 26, said he “didn’t think of it at the time”.

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The court heard it was the second serious assault Byriel had committed.

In 2016, he was given two years and six months jail for his part in the assault and robbery of a man on the Esplanade at Hervey Bay.

In that incident Byriel and another man punched a disabled man in the face, fracturing his cheekbone, and stealing his wallet when he was on the ground.

Magistrate Chris Callaghan was left to ask why Byriel had assaulted the man instead of going to the police and lodging a complaint about the allegedly stolen skateboard.

His criminal record also included burglary, arson and drugs offences.

Byriel, who represented himself in court, told Mr Callaghan any jail time would jeopardise his job with a fishing company, “the best job I’ve ever had”.

Mr Callaghan agreed locking Byriel behind bars right now would be the less beneficial solution.

“I think society is better off if you’re working, paying taxes and not being homeless and itinerant,” Mr Callaghan said.

However, the assault had caused his victim “great distress”, left him afraid to walk down the street and suffering from bad dreams.

He sentenced Byriel to 12 months jail, suspended for two years, and offered him a warning that “anything” he did to break the law would land him behind bars and cost him his job.

“You’ve got to be on your very best behaviour for the next two years,” he said.

Byriel was ordered to pay $800 compensation to the victim.

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