Mitchell Smolinski, Nathan Steele to be sentenced over Charmhaven kidnap and finger severing
Two men are facing lengthy jail sentences over a kidnapping and assault in Charmhaven, resulting in a man’s finger being amputated. Both men have given evidence in court, blaming the drug ice for their actions.
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Two men have blamed the drug “ice” for a kidnapping in Charmhaven that resulted in a man’s finger being amputated.
Nathan Marc Steele, of Lake Munmorah, and Mitchell Smolinski, of Gosford, will be sentenced over charges of reckless grievous bodily harm in company and kidnap in company.
During sentencing submissions in Gosford District Court, with both men appearing from jail via video link, the court heard the men went to a shed on Arizona Rd in Charmhaven in the early hours of June 26 2019, assaulting and holding Isaac Devitt-McKew against his will.
Court facts state the men went to the shed, where Mr Devitt-McKew was living, and woke him around 4am.
Mr Devitt-McKew grabbed a nearby homemade weapon, a wooden pole with a butchers knife attached, and began swinging at the pair.
“Nathan Steele picked up a metal bar in the room and swung at the victim,” the facts read.
“The bar hit the victim’s finger, severing the top of his right little finger which remained attached by the skin only.”
Steele and Smolinski then held the man against his will, tying him up and assaulting him.
Smolinski said “oh look at his finger, let’s get another one off”.
The facts state the victim thought he was going to die, with Smolinski saying they should get rid of him and take him to the bush.
After a period of time, the pair released Mr Devitt-McKew and let him have a shower. They went to take him to hospital however their car was bogged so they called him a taxi.
Mr Devitt-McKew ended up walking down to the local NSW Rural Fire Service base where staff called triple-0.
Two days later, his finger was amputated and he also suffered lacerations and bruises to his head, back and arms.
The morning of the offence police attended the shed where they found Steele and Smolinski trying to free their car from the mud. The pair denied any knowledge of the assault and said they were cleaning the property.
DNA matches from inside the shed led to the arrest of Steele and Smolinski in July.
The facts state that in an interview with police, Smolinski said he had found out Mr Devitt-McKew sent nude images to his mother and thought he had stolen his property.
When Steele was arrested he said to police “Yes, I’m so sorry. It’s the drug – the ice”.
Steel took the stand in Gosford District Court saying he felt “guilty, ashamed and deeply remorseful”.
“If I could apologise to him personally I would,” he said after explaining he had been using ice for the past two years. He said once he was out of jail, he planned to start a fencing business.
Smolinski also took the stand and expressed his remorse, saying he was angry at the victim for sending rude messages to his mum.
“I’m really sorry. I should have gone to the cops instead of taking the law into my own hands,” he said.
“If I wasn’t on the drugs, I wouldn’t have done it. We went too far, he didn’t deserve what he got.”
He said his time in jail had given him plenty of time to think about making changes in his life and not doing drugs.
Both of the men’s solicitors outlined different mental health issues and plans for rehabilitation, however didn’t say one’s actions were worse than the other’s on the day of the offence.
“Each played different parts that were abhorrent,” the court heard.
However the court head while the pair went to the shed for confrontation, they did not plan for things to get as violent as they did.
Steele and Smolinski will be sentenced on September 4, 2020.