Berkeley Vale: Stephen William Meston sentenced for ‘serious’ attacked on partner

A Central Coast maintenance supervisor has told a court he had no memory of violently assaulting his partner, smashing up her property or biting a cop during a drunken rampage.

Stephen William Meston has been sentenced over a drunken rampage in which he assaulted his new partner, her flatmate and bit a police officer on the arm. Picture: NewsLocal

A maintenance supervisor in charge of a $75 million dredging project has been sentenced after flying into a violent, drunken rage of which he has no memory of whatsoever, a court has heard.

Stephen William Meston, of Belmont, faced Gosford District Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to three main offences and five related charges including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, aggravated breaking and entering, destroying property and assaulting a police officer.

Giving evidence at his sentence hearing Meston, a maintenance supervisor for a major dredging company, said he started drinking beers while he mowed the lawn at his partner’s Berkeley Vale home on April 1, last year.

Meston, 50, said at the time he was still struggling with the death of his brother-in-law, who he was very close with, who had collapsed and died about two weeks prior while also mowing a lawn.

He said he hadn’t drunk alcohol since his brother-in-law’s death and continued drinking beer “all night” at his new partner’s house who was hosting a party.

Meston was sentenced at Gosford District Court on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Meston told the court at some point he began making cocktails for everyone.

“I remember everything up to the point of making cocktails,” he said.

“I remember waking up in a police cell and asking the police there if I’d been in a car accident.”

Meston (left) outside Wyong Local Court with his lawyer at a previous appearance. Picture: NewsLocal

An agreed set of facts states Meston was heavily intoxicated and started arguing with his partner about 11.30pm when most of the guests had left.

It went downhill from there and later he swung a punch at her, hitting her on the chin.

She ran inside and hid in a granny flat at the rear of the property and her flatmate rang triple 0.

Meston then flew into a rage and grabbed a nearby ladder and used it to smash a window “five to 10 times” until he broke through and threw the ladder inside, where it struck and cut the female flatmate.

Meston used a step ladder to smash his way into a granny flat where his partner was hiding.

Meston grabbed his partner and half dragged her out the broken window, tearing her shirt and causing abrasions to her stomach, before going around to the front and smashing smaller glass windows in the door.

“While at the door, the offender reached through the smashed glass, grabbed the victim by the head and pulled her head back toward the door,” the facts state.

“Her face hit the door, in coming into contact with the door she was cut by the glass and felt immediate pain.”

When the police arrived Meston carried on, wrestling and resisting on the ground as they tried to cuff him.

At one point Meston bit a Senior Constable on the forearm who yelled “don’t bite my arm” and tried to pull away.

“The offender, losing grip on the arm, bit down again in a similar spot, which caused the officer pain,” the facts state.

Judge Tanya Bright said it was a “serious episode of domestic violence” and sentenced Meston to an intensive correction order for two years and six months.

“I have no doubt the events of the evening would have been terrifying for [the victims],” Judge Bright said.

Further conditions of the order include that he serve 10 months of his sentence in home detention, he perform 200 hours of community service, continue counselling and refrain from alcohol.

Meston was adjourned for six weeks to undergo an assessment to see if he is suitable for the home detention and community service components before his sentence begins.