Hayden Roberts sentenced for violent Moss Vale brawl about a bicycle

A magistrate has issued a young man a stern warning, saying his “street cred” would be worth nothing in jail after he was involved in a violent street brawl over a bicycle.

A magistrate warned a young man his “street cred” would be worth nothing in jail as he sentenced the young tradie for an “unacceptable” violent brawl in Moss Vale.

Hayden Roberts, 20, appeared in Moss Vale Local Court for sentencing on October 19 after pleading guilty to common assault and affray.

The Mittagong resident is the last of three young men to be sentenced for a violent brawl which erupted in Moss Vale’s quiet streets after an argument about a bicycle.

According to court documents, Roberts approached a Moss Vale pub at around 7pm on November 26 last year with Braiden Walker, 20, and Andre Roux, 19, to tell two acquaintances they would all be “punching on”.

Hayden Roberts has avoided jail after being involved in a violent brawl in the Southern Highlands while on conditional liberty.

When the two teenagers refused to engage, police facts show all five men got into a heated argument outside the pub. CCTV footage shows Roberts waving his arms and gesturing towards the carpark in what police labelled “an act of aggression”.

The surveillance footage shows the group walking down Waite St in Moss Vale and Roberts, Walker, and Roux taunting the teens. According to the police facts, all three men called out to the victims to goad them into fighting.

“What the f**k are you doing you f**king pussies, we’re punching on,” he said.

The court documents show when one of the victims refused to fight because of an injury, Walker punched him in the face and made his nose bleed. In the ensuing scuffle, Roberts and Roux ran in and one of the victims ended up on the ground. The other victim ran in to separate the parties, and knocked Walker out cold for around five seconds.

Court documents reveal Roberts, Walker, and Roux chased the two victims down Browley St and pestered them to continue the fight.

“Come back here, we’re doing this now, I’m gunna show up to your house tonight,” they said.

Hayden Roberts has avoided jail after being involved in a violent brawl in the Southern Highlands while on conditional liberty.

The fight then erupted again and Roberts allegedly used an unopened can of Jack Daniels to hit one of the victims in the jaw. The teen stumbled backwards from the force of the blow, according to the court documents.

While the two victims continued down Browley St and tried to distance themselves, the police facts show three young men continued to follow them.

“Come on c**s, come on you f**king pussies, we’re gunna get ya, we’re gunna kill ya,” they said.

According to the police facts, Walker escalated the threats by indicating he had a sharp weapon which he had fashioned from a broken aluminium can.

For their roles in the affray, Walker was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment with a four-month non-parole period and Roux was sentenced to a 13-month community corrections order.

Roberts’s lawyer Fiona Kay said the brawl was sparked by an argument about a bicycle which escalated.

“Binge drinking with negative peers is not a great idea. The two don’t mix well for (Roberts),” she said.

The court heard Roberts was serving an intensive corrections order for robbery in company at the time of the affray. However, Ms Kay argued Roberts postured more than participated in the brawl.

“There was a lot of gesticulating and sticking (his) chest out, and all that behaviour,” she said.

Hayden Roberts was involved in a street brawl while on conditional liberty.

However, Magistrate Mark Douglass condemned the “unacceptable” drunken violence.

“The whole community is the victim,” he said.

Magistrate Douglass told Roberts his criminal record wouldn’t help him stay out of trouble in jail.

“For a guy that’s 17, 18, 19, you may have some street cred but I reckon you’d have zero in prison,” he said.

“You’d be the baby”.

Magistrate Douglass acknowledged Roberts’s young age and job as a brick stacker at Bowral Brickworks as reasons to avoid imprisonment.

He sentenced the offender to a 12-month intensive corrections order and 100 hours of community service. Magistrate Douglass also ordered Roberts to undertake binge drinking and anger management programs and rehabilitation.