Revealed: Worst nightclub and pub assaults in Geelong
From women threatening to defecate in people’s shoes, to random alcohol-fuelled violent brawls, Geelong residents have faced court for assaults in pubs and clubs. SEE THE LIST
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Geelong magistrate John Bentley has seen no shortage of assault cases involving alcohol-fuelled violence. In several of them he said it was lucky the attackers were not facing murder charges after nights out that could very nearly have ended in death.
And sadly some assaults have come to fatal ends.
Lochlan Large, pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court to the charge of intentionally causing injury after a punch that left a man with a fractured jaw
“It could have been a murder” Mr Bentley said.
Ryan Gilson, also pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury and was labelled a “drunken brute”, after it was revealed he has previously been before the courts for similar offending.
“He’s lucky it isn’t a murder, and this is twice this has happened. He sounds like a drunken brute,” Mr Bentley said.
Tyson Armstrong, a Geelong father-of-three, pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year after lashing out at Luke Francis, who was enjoying a night out with his girlfriend.
Armstrong was sentenced to a decade behind bars with a minimum of eight years for the “cowardly, alcohol-fuelled and entirely senseless” attack in the Crown Casino food court in March, 2022.
Outside the Supreme Court in June this year, Mr Francis’ girlfriend Tessa Penberthy – who had tried to pull Armstrong off the concreter during the 13-second fatal attack – said that “10 years is nothing”.
The latest data from the crime statistics agency revealed the Greater Geelong region had seen a surge in assaults over a nine-year period with 1979 assault and other related offences – a number that has increased by 43 per cent since 2014.
Inspector Karl Curran, Geelong Investigation and Response Manager, said while there had been a slight increase in overall assaults, police had noticed a decline in people being seriously assaulted on the streets.
“Serious assaults not connected to family violence are currently at their second lowest levels since 2017,” Inspector Curran said.
“While this is positive, the slight increase in overall assaults is primarily driven by incidents of family violence and assaults between parties known to each other,” he said.
Police said they were aware that alcohol and drug use could significantly contribute to assaults, and acknowledged the profound impact these incidents can have on victims.
To prevent alcohol-fuelled violence on the streets, the force has been focused on maintaining a highly visible police presence to deter criminal activity, this includes an increase in weekend patrols in Geelong,
Police said resources were allocated to areas where they were needed most, whether it’s a licenced venue, public transport area or major event.
Who has been before the courts for assault in pubs and nightclubs?
Ryan Gilson
Gilson, 31, of Portarlington, pleaded guilty in Geelong Magistrates Court to recklessly causing injury and was labelled by Magistrate John Bentley as a “drunken brute”.
“He’s lucky it isn’t a murder, and this is twice this has happened. He sounds like a drunken brute,” he said.
The court head Gilson was walking along Little Malop St, in the city, just before 6.30am on September 25 last year, when he started arguing with a man.
The victim turned to look at Gilson when he was punched in the face. The court was told Gilson used his left fist to punch the victim, and the victim fell to the ground and hit his head on the concrete.
Liam Vagg
Vagg grabbed a hotel licensee, pressed his face into the ground, punched him and threatened to take his life after his mate was refused alcohol.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable James French said Vagg was drinking beers at the St Leonards hotel with a group of friends on the evening of December 3 last year when they were antagonising patrons.
One of his friends went to get a beer and was told the group would no longer be served.
The court was told Vagg said “who the f--- are you? Give me the drinks” before confronting the licensee and tackling him to the ground.
Vagg pressed his face into the floor and punched him in the side of the face four times, saying “f--- you, you old c---, I’m going to kill you”.
Lochlan Large
Large unleashed a brutal “king hit” in Moorabool St just days after he turned 18 following a night out in the CBD with a few mates when he decided to punch the victim on November 21, 2021, leaving him with a fractured jaw and concussion.
Magistrate John Bentley said Large was fortunate the matter was not being heard in the Supreme Court. “It could have been a murder” Mr Bentley said.
Crown prosecutor Francesca Holmes said the victim was at the Home House nightclub enjoying an evening of social drinking and eventually left alone to catch a taxi home. The victim ran into Large on Moorabool St and a brief verbal exchange took place before Large struck the victim to the face with his right hand, in what was described in court as a “king hit”.
Tyson Armstrong
Armstrong, was sentenced to a decade behind bars with a minimum of eight years for the “cowardly, alcohol-fuelled and entirely senseless” attack in the Crown Casino food court in March, 2022.
The Geelong father-of-three followed Luke Francis, 29, after the two spoke for a brief five seconds in the game room, then pushed and punched him from behind as he walked away.
Describing his actions as those of a “violent and drunken thug”, Justice Andrew Tinney said Armstrong had “launched a violent, cowardly and unforgivable attack” on an innocent man enjoying a night out with his girlfriend, Tessa Penberthy.
Christopher Moreland
Moreland, a former Geelong West football club captain, unleashed a brutal assault on a nightclub security guard after he and his mate were kicked out for being too aggressive.
Magistrate Simon Guthrie said he needed to “call out this behaviour”.
“(It was) cowardly, brutal and alcohol-fuelled violence,” he said.
Local footballer and 2014 The Recruit reality star Moreland and the vice president of the Nomads motorcycle gang, Andrew Jones, assaulted a security guard in front of Lambys Tavern nightclub mid-last year when they were told to leave.
Just a month later, the same security guard noticed the two men in line at St James Nightclub and was attacked again when he told them they were banned and could not go inside.
“What do we tell the victim (who was) clearly just doing his job and was having to deal with you twice in a month,” Mr Guthrie said.
Damian Sladdin
Sladdin left St James Nightclub in July 2022 after getting into a physical fight.
Nearly an hour later, he came face-to-face with a young couple in Little Malop St and headbutted the man after taking offence to something he thought he had said. When the female victim tried to intervene by telling Sladdin to leave, he pushed her, causing her to fall and hit her head on the pavement.
Sladdin pleaded guilty to affray and assault charges in Geelong Magistrates Court
Magistrate John Bentley told him it was all “inexcusable behaviour”.
“It’s normally the young kids who are drunken yobs, but this time it’s (you). He headbutted a young person,” Mr Bentley said.
Codi Gardiner
Gardiner fractured another woman’s leg during a scuffle in front of Bloom Nightclub in the early hours of August 15 last year.
Gardiner ran and jumped on a 21-year-old woman’s back, brought her to the ground and had to be pulled off by crowd control.
Gardiner pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury, wilful damage and failing to answer bail in the Geelong Magistrates Court.
In footage shown to the court, the victim is seen hitting Gardiner’s then-boyfriend in front of Geelong’s Bloom Nightclub. Gardiner then ran up and tackled the woman, leading to the victim being hospitalised with a fracture in her leg.
Kenisha Whistance
Whistance started a bloody brawl at a pub in the city’s CBD after telling another woman she was going to defecate in her shoes.
Whistance threw a drink and then lunged towards two women at The Inn Hotel in Corio St, sparking a violent brawl which ended with both victims bruised and bloody.
Whistance stomped on one of the women while she was being assaulted by a co-accused man.
She was also accused of elbowing one of the women, kicking one and pulling one of the women’s hair with “such force” that she was thrown backwards to the ground.
Whistance only stopped when an unknown person stepped in.
She pleaded guilty to the assault charges and more at the Geelong Magistrates Court, including a charge of making a threat to kill.
Joshua Burns
Burns was smoking a cigarette across the road from the Geelong nightclub in March last year when he saw two men become involved in a physical altercation with crowd control staff at the front of the nightclub.
The Geelong Magistrates Court heard that Burns saw one of the men was pinned against a wall.
Unprovoked, he walked over and punched the man twice in the head with a closed fist.
Burns told officers the victim had been “threatening my mate” and he “saw an opportunity to stop him and that’s why I hit him”.
He pleaded guilty to the unlawful assault at the Geelong Magistrates’ Court.
If you have any information about an assault, please contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppers.com.au
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