Moss Vale teen Andre Roux ‘tagged along’ to boozy brawl

A teenager helped taunt two men after they refused to ‘punch on’ sparking an alcohol-fuelled brawl on the streets outside a Moss Vale pub.

A Moss Vale teenager “tagged along” with four other men to a boozy brawl that spilled onto the residential streets last year.

Andre Roux, 19, faced Moss Vale Local Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to affray and custody of a knife in a public place. The court heard Roux was involved in an alcohol-fuelled argument that started at a Moss Vale pub and ended in the quiet residential streets.

According to court documents, on the night of November 26, he and the two co-accused approached a pub to get two men they knew to start “punching on”. When the two refused, there was a heated argument.

Police say all men were known to each other and had previously had verbal and physical fights.

Andre Roux got involved in a boozy brawl outside a Moss Vale pub.

CCTV footage shows the five men walking down Waite St in Moss Vale, with Roux and his co-accused taunting the two victims. Court documents reveal Roux and the co-accused called them “f***ing p***ies” before the brawl began.

The fight ended when one of the co-accused was knocked out cold, although that didn’t stop Roux and the co-accused from chasing the victims down Browley Street. Court documents reveal they called after the victims “come on c***s, we’re gunna get ya.”

Another fight broke out and several punches were thrown before the police showed up to separate the brawlers. Roux said he didn’t remember the incident when questioned by police.

His lawyer Ben Archbold said drugs and peer pressure were to blame for Roux’s participation in the “troubling” affray. He told the court his client was trying to turn his young life around and abstain from illicit substances.

“Cannabis is his drug of choice but he wants to remain drug free,” he said.

Court documents reveal Andre Roux was wearing his red LaCoste cap on the night of the brawl.

Mr Archbold stressed his client’s remorse for his actions and the harm they could have done to others.

“It happened outside a business premises and he regrets there were a lot of people around,” he said.

Magistrate Douglass acknowledged Roux’s clean record and low level of participation in the brawl.

“This is your first offence,” he said. “You’ve tagged along.”

However he also noted that Roux knew it was a serious offence and chose to tag along, despite hearing one of the co-accused threaten to stab someone. Magistrate Douglass said the brawl was not a spontaneous event for the men involved.

“It’s serious and it goes for a period of time,” he said. “It’s not just a blow up and it’s over.”

Teenager Andre Roux pleaded guilty of participating in a brawl in Moss Vale.

Roux was one of five men charged with affray, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years. Two of the men had their charges dismissed, one is still before the courts, and the final man, Braiden Walker, was jailed for his participation.

Roux was also charged with custody of a knife in public on February 26, which the court heard was a box cutter he used for work as a removalist.

Police found the 10cm blade on him at Moss Vale Railway Station on a day off from work, but Roux maintained he’d forgotten he had the cutter in his bag.

Magistrate Douglass sentenced Roux to a community corrections order for 13 months, to be served in the community.