Cody Blake Selby coward punched a stranger outside Goulburn kebab shop

A young man doesn’t remember throwing the punch that broke a stranger’s jaw in two places outside a Goulburn kebab shop.

A young man doesn’t remember attacking a stranger outside a kebab shop and punching him so hard his jaw broke in two places.

Cody Blake Selby, 20, appeared in Goulburn Local Court this week after pleading guilty to reckless grievous bodily harm.

The court heard the Goulburn resident was drunk when he approached a stranger sitting on the kerb outside a kebab shop at nearly 3am on February 14.

The man and his friends were waiting for their kebabs after a night at the pub when Selby came over to them, according to court documents. A witness said his behaviour became more aggressive as the conversation continued.

Cody Blake Selby was found guilty of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm to a stranger in Goulburn.

According to court documents, Selby repeatedly threatened the friends.

“I’ll kick your head in,” he said.

After some time, court documents reveal the victim told Selby to leave the group alone.

“Why don’t you go back to your mates and p*** off?” he said.

As he turned back to his friends, the court heard Selby pushed him with both hands so he fell backwards and hit his head on the ground. He then punched the victim on the left side of his jaw and taunted him, according to court documents.

“Are you sure you want to keep being a smarta***?” he said.

The victim Selby told his jaw was broken and to “f*** off”, according to police facts. The victim was helped to the hospital and found out his jaw was broken in two places and required surgery in Canberra, the court heard.

According to the court documents, the victim spent three days in hospital getting surgery to repair his jaw.

The court heard Cody Blake Selby is engaging with doctors and counsellors for treatment of his mental health and dependency issues.

When questioned by police about the incident, Selby admitted he didn’t remember much about the incident because he had been drinking. He told police he thought the victim had said something to him about his deceased father.

Magistrate Geraldine Beattie said there was no excuse for the violence.

“No one deserves to be hit, no matter what the circumstances,” she said.

She emphasised the painful consequences for the victim of requiring surgery to fix his jaw, and said the attack was unprovoked.

“You could have left him alone, but you’re the one repeating ‘I’ll kick your head in’,” she said.

The court heard Selby was on a conditional release order for a drug possession conviction at the time of the attack. Magistrate Beattie said Selby’s disregard for the court order was an aggravating factor in the attack.

“If you’d done what you were meant to do with the order, you wouldn’t be here today and that poor person wouldn’t have had to go to hospital for surgery,” she said.

Cody Blake Selby was supported in Goulburn Local Court by friends.

His lawyer told the court Selby had insight into his offending and the incident had triggered him to re-engage with treatment for his mental health and alcohol dependency. The court heard Selby had been self-medicating but has “dramatically reduced” his alcohol consumption.

Magistrate Beattie agreed alcohol played a strong role in the attack.

“Anyone who’s drunk as much as you did has impaired judgment,” she told Selby.

“The great concern for the community is to deter people from engaging in alcohol-fuelled violence.”

Magistrate Beattie sentenced Selby to a two-year intensive corrections order and ordered him to abstain from alcohol, and continue to seek mental health and alcohol dependency treatment and counselling.

She warned Selby he would be sent to jail if he “put one foot wrong” during the two year period. She also fined him $1,500 for breaching the conditional release order imposed on him earlier in the year for drug possession.