Domestic violence: Warwick man in court after risking 10-month-old baby, partner’s lives with drunken antics

The intoxicated 21yo tried to force his partner to take him back to the pub by almost jumping out of a moving car twice and then yanking at the steering wheel, all with his baby daughter in the back seat.

WARWICK COURT: The father walked free without a recorded conviction after pleading guilty to a series of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence offences. Picture: KatarzynaBialasiewicz / iStock

A Warwick man who drunkenly tried to steer a car from the passenger seat while his 10-month-old baby was in the back in a shocking series of domestic violence offences has walked away from court without a recorded conviction.

An argument broke out between the 21-year-old, who cannot be named, and his partner on July 6 when the woman picked him up to go out for dinner and found he’d been “drinking excessively” at the pub with friends.

The Warwick Magistrates Court heard the woman put their baby in the back seat and tried to drive the man to his mother’s house to stay the night, but he repeatedly tried to force her into taking him back to the pub instead.

Police prosecutor Ken Wiggan said the father tried twice to open the passenger-side door and jump out of the moving car, and at one stage grabbed the steering wheel from his partner.

“This frightened the woman as she was not only concerned for herself, but for the infant child in the back seat,” Sergeant Wiggan said.

The man then refused to get out of the car when they reached his mother’s house, arguing with both women until the mother’s partner came outside and dragged him from the vehicle.

It was only a few weeks later on July 25 that conflict escalated again between the couple, this time over the man’s heavy drinking while at home with the woman and their baby.

Sergeant Wiggan said the partner eventually decided to leave and the man punched a hole in the kitchen wall, leaving plaster dust and fragments on the floor, before following her outside.

“She locked the doors to the car and tried to leave, but the defendant stood in front of the car and stopped her from leaving until some more friends arrived and saw what he was doing,” Sergeant Wiggan said.

Police eventually caught up with the Warwick man, who told officers he’d damaged the wall weeks earlier.

“He’s got no (criminal) history, but he does have two breaches in a short period of time and they appear to be alcohol-related,” Sergeant Wiggan added.

The Warwick man was supported by two family members from the back of the courtroom.

Defence lawyer Phillip Crook told the Warwick court his client struggled with mental health issues such as depression, but was focused on managing it more closely for the sake of his partner and child.

“He says he did knock the hole in the wall, but it was a couple of weeks before and he’s already paid to fix that at his own expense,” Mr Crook said.

Magistrate Julian Noud placed the man on probation for six months for his “unacceptable” conduct, and urged him to take advantage of the rehabilitation services made available to him during that period.

The Warwick man pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening a domestic violence order.

No conviction was recorded.