Warwick father of five punches woman in head twice on night out

The violent drunken assault was just one of almost 20 charges Hayden Shane Alldridge faced in court.

IN COURT: Hayden Shane Alldridge faced the Warwick court on nearly 20 charges this week. Picture: social media

A Warwick father of five has narrowly avoided time behind bars after punching a woman in the head twice in a violent drunken assault on a night out.

Hayden Shane Alldridge was at the Malt House late on March 7 last year when he got into an argument with the woman and her friends, which the court heard was sparked by a history of bad blood.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said the 30-year-old refused to leave until he was forcibly removed by security, at which point he took off his shirt and continued to hurl verbal abuse.

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The Warwick Magistrates Court heard the conflict between Alldridge and the other group continued to escalate until he punched the woman twice in the jaw, leaving her with bruising and swelling.

Alldridge also racked up more than a dozen other charges in the months before and after the violent assault, many of which came from a police car chase through Massie on November 13, 2019.

The Warwick man was behind the wheel of a red Holden Commodore that led an Allora police unit on a pursuit at about 160 km/h, before abandoning the car on Upper Willowvale Rd and trying to escape on foot.

Alldridge was not arrested that day, but admitted in a later police interview to the pursuit and possessing 0.3g meth, a straw cut into a scoop, and two bags with drug residue found in the car at the scene.

He was also nabbed driving with meth in his system in Warwick on another five occasions, and was found with small quantities of marijuana and methamphetamines twice in five months.

 

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Defence lawyer Amber Acreman said the father had struggled with substance abuse for many years, and fell heavily back into drug addiction after a difficult break-up and family deaths in 2019.

"I've been instructed (Alldridge) has since ceased drug use entirely, and is focused on earning a place back in his children's lives," Ms Acreman said.

The lawyer submitted several references from friends, family, and medical professionals citing her client's commitment to turning his life around.

Magistrate Julian Noud sentenced Alldridge to 10 months' jail with immediate release on parole, urging him to think of his children and family before falling back into his criminal patterns.

"You cannot be a father to those children ... if you're sitting in a jail cell. (Your parents) must despair to see you in here today dealing with this," Mr Noud said.

Alldridge pleaded guilty to five counts of drug driving, three counts of possessing dangerous drugs, and two counts each of possessing drug utensils and contravening a police direction.

He pleaded guilty to a further one count each of assault occasioning bodily harm, evading police, obstructing police, public nuisance, failure to leave a licensed premises, and unlicensed driving.

Alldridge was also fined $6672.45 and disqualified from driving for two years and three months.

Originally published as Warwick dad punches woman in face in Malt House attack