Christopher Ray Grabyn and Jarred Michael John Shaw sentenced in court for assault occasioning bodily harm

A man was attacked by two strangers outside his Biloela home after their group was attracted to a house by a woman causing a scene. See how it all unfolded here.

A man was attacked by two strangers outside his home in Biloela after their group was attracted to the victim’s house by a woman who was causing a scene, a court has heard.

Christopher Ray Grabyn, 25, and Jarred Michael John Shaw, 26, both pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on October 21 to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in company.

Crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke said the victim and defendants were not known to each other.

Ms O’Rourke said the victim was at home with a friend after a night out drinking in Biloela on January 18, 2020 when a woman appeared at his house and started making a “nuisance of herself” and attracted the attention of a large group, which Grabyn and Shaw were apart of.

Jarred Michael John Shaw (top right) and Christopher Ray Grabyn (bottom left) leaving Rockhampton Courthouse on October 21, 2021. Picture: Aden Stokes

Worried by the commotion outside his home, the victim went to the front door with a walking stick and used it to hit the group away and was spat on by Grabyn who was moving towards him with Shaw.

The victim struck Grabyn with the stick and Grabyn and Shaw then attacked him.

“They disarmed him, wrestled him and hit him with their hands,” Ms O’Rourke said.

The victim’s friend pulled Shaw off and both Grabyn and Shaw stopped their attack on the victim and left.

Ms O’Rourke said the victim suffered bruising to his face and parts of his body and an abrasion to his elbow.

She said when Grabyn was questioned by police, he told them he had “smashed” the victim.

She said Grabyn was on probation at the time of the offence.

Barrister Sheridan Shaw, who represented Grabyn, said her client and Shaw were walking home from the pub when they were drawn to the situation after hearing the commotion outside the victim’s house.

“As my client says, it was a dumb decision but they went and involved themselves,” Ms Shaw said.

“Things escalated out of hand after my client became involved. He did stop his offending of his own volition.

“There was no nefarious purpose to them going there, it wasn’t a targeted attack and there was no premeditation.”

She said her client had suffered a gash to the top of his head after being struck by the victim and went to Biloela Hospital the following day with a concussion.

She said her client was in a “messy relationship” that encouraged drug use, “mainly methamphetamine”, in late 2019 and 2020 and that had ended.

She said that since then her client had “gotten his life together” by obtaining work at the meat works, which required him to get clean from drugs, and reduced how much alcohol he drank.

Barrister Julie Marsden, who represented Shaw, said her client was attempting to defend his friend, Grabyn, who was living with him at the time.

“When Grabyn was struck with the stick my client went in after him,” Ms Marsden said.

“His initial thoughts was to disarm the victim of the stick and was quickly put in a headlock and removed.

“He was the less aggressive of the two.”

She said that after leaving high school her client fell in with the wrong crowd and became involved with drugs.

“He was addicted to meth, consuming marijuana and occasionally MDMA,” she said.

She said her client was clean from drugs at the time of the offence but was using alcohol as a coping mechanism.

She said her client was also not in a good place with the break down of a five-year long relationship.

Grabyn was sentenced to nine months prison, suspended for 18 months, and Shaw was sentenced to six months prison, suspended for 18 months.