Anthony James Carroll conspired to bash stranger in Clifton Springs

A man who plotted to bash someone he didn’t know at their Clifton Springs home has faced court.

Anthony Carroll has faced Geelong Court.

A man who planned to bash someone he didn’t know at their Clifton Springs home has faced court.

Anthony Carroll, 36, pleaded guilty to burglary and admitted his involvement in a separate stabbing at the County Koori Court on Monday morning.

He was charged with conspiracy to cause injury, burglary and intentionally causing injury.

The court heard Carroll and three others went to a Clifton Springs home on April 17, 2020, with the intention of assaulting a man who lived there.

The group travelled together and one of the men was armed with a baseball bat.

Upon arrival, they realised no one was home.

Carroll and another co-offender gained entry to the house, searched through rooms and left holding a hammer.

During the sentencing conversation, Carroll told the court he wanted to help for substance abuse and to get back into work.

“I know I need to get myself stable,” he said.

“My main goal is to keep myself clean and stable. I want to work. I want to spend time with my kids.”

Carroll’s defence lawyer said his client “didn’t even know the man” the group had wanted to assault and was “just going along with people he was doing drugs with”.

The defendant also admitted his role in an assault on a pair of brothers in the state’s northeast last year that ended in a stabbing.

It’s not suggested Carroll stabbed the victim or had any knowledge of the stabbing.

Court documents alleged Carroll and a co-accused drove to a home in Wineglia Cr, Wodonga in November 2021 hoping to confront a set of brothers.

At one point he punched one of the victims, and an altercation ensued. As the victim ran away, Carroll cut the man’s arm with a knife.

Court documents revealed the wound did not require treatment.

During the scuffle, the second brother was stabbed by Carroll’s co-accused as he tried to take the attention off his brother.

The offenders later escaped in a stolen car.

The second brother was taken to Albury hospital for emergency medical treatment.

Judge Scott Johns said Carroll had come into the courtroom with a “strong” and “sensible” view of how he needed to improve himself.

“Importantly you recognise you need help because of the temptations out there. I give you credit for that,” he said.

“You’re getting too old for this kind of run-around nonsense.”

Judge Johns ordered Carroll be assessed for a community corrections order.

The case will come back before the court on December 7 for sentencing.

Originally published as Anthony James Carroll conspired to bash stranger in Clifton Springs