Jamie Charles Gunnis: Casino man pleads guilty in Lismore court after hitting man in head with bourbon bottle
A Northern Rivers man previously locked up for his violent behaviour cracked a man in the head with a bourbon bottle – claiming he was so drunk he didn’t realise he was carrying it.
Police & Courts
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An asbestos removalist guilty of reckless wounding hit a man in the head with a bottle of bourbon – but told police he was so drunk he “didn’t realise that he had the bottle in his hand”.
Jamie Charles Gunnis, 26, pleaded guilty at Lismore Local Court on Monday to assault causing actual bodily harm (domestic violence) and reckless wounding.
The Casino man had arranged a gathering with friends and family on West St at Casino when an argument broke out about 11.30pm on August 6 last year, court documents state.
Gunnis was holding a 700ml bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon when the victim walked towards him.
He struck the victim across the forehead with the bottle, resulting in a 4cm cut.
“The victim grabbed Gunnis’ collar, holding him back, as Gunnis punched the victim,” the documents state.
“There was a short scuffle where both parties received blows before Gunnis left the location.”
The victim was treated by paramedics and taken to Casino Hospital, where he received three stitches.
Earlier in the night, Gunnis and the victim were pushing and shoving each other.
Gunnis showed up at Casino Police Station about 9am on the morning after the gathering.
He was arrested and during a police interview he told officers he punched the victim, but was not able to recall how many times.
Gunnis told police he was defending himself.
“Due to his level of intoxication, he didn’t realise that he had the bottle in his hand, but accepted that he did,” police state.
Defence Lawyer Sophie Anderson said Gunnis had apologised to the victim and was voluntarily seeing a psychologist.
“This young man has had an unenviable start to life and he is trying to rehabilitate himself,” she said.
“There was aggression between both the parties which led to the incident.”
Magistrate Michael Dakin said Gunnis had a history of committing violent offences while intoxicated.
“This man has been to prison for violence a number of times … it was a strike of the bottle to the head and then he punches him,” he said.
“There’s a loss of control – that’s what is really troubling about this.
“If he fills himself up with alcohol, he will act out like this … if this is how he behaves he shouldn’t be drinking at all.”
The court heard Gunnis was serving an intensive corrections order for an unrelated matter when he offended.
Gunnis was sentenced to a two-year intensive corrections order and ordered to complete 300 hours of community service work.
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