Jeremiah Chandler’s Nyngan glassing charges dismissed

Charges against a young man who spent a month in jail, after he was accused of glassing another man following a wild birthday bash, have been dismissed.

A teen who spent four months in jail after he was charged with glassing a man after an 18th birthday bash at Nyngan has had all charges against him dismissed in court.

Jeremiah Chandler, also known as Jed, was charged with reckless wounding in company after police investigated reports of a violent altercation at the Nyngan Showground about 2.30am on February 28.

Dubbo man Jed Chandler has been cleared of wrongdoing after a court found he acted in self defence when he hit another man with a glass bottle. Picture: Facebook

Mr Chandler pleaded not guilty but was initially refused bail by Magistrate Brian van Zuylen in Dubbo Local Court.

Despite having no criminal record, he was forced to spend more than a month remanded in custody before a Supreme Court application for bail was granted.

Police believed Mr Chandler used a bottle to hit Nyngan man Bon Franklin in the head and that Mr Franklin was later attacked by a group of people as he was walking home from the party.

In court, Mr Chandler confessed to glassing Mr Franklin, but he said he was acting in self-defence and protecting his friend who had allegedly been assaulted by Mr Franklin.

Various people who attended the party and were around when the incident took place were called to give evidence during a two-day court hearing.

Mr Franklin told the court he had consumed about 10 Canadian Clubs and “a lot of cocaine” at the party before he was glassed.

Mr Franklin rejected suggestions he had any major conflict with other attendees at the party and he said when he was walking out of the showground to go home, he stopped to urinate and noticed a group of people.

“All I can remember saying is ‘what’s going on over here?’,” Mr Franklin told the court.

“All I can remember after that was getting bottled in the head.”

Mr Franklin said multiple people had surrounded him and it “felt like” five or six people were striking him with the bottle.

He told the court he tried to defend himself by throwing punches at the people who were attacking him.

“I just started trying to fight them off as you would do,” Mr Franklin said.

“I was just trying to fight for my life.”

During the incident Mr Franklin suffered a wound to the top of his head and a puncture wound around his rib cage.

When called to give evidence Mr Chandler told the court he attended the party with two other friends from Dubbo and was approached by Mr Franklin after he saw them talking to his sister.

“We were talking with her and Bon walked up to us he said ‘who the f**k are youse?’,” Mr Chandler told the court.

“It got under his skin that we were talking to his sister.

“I replied ‘who are you?’ … I said ‘we don’t want any problems’.”

Mr Chandler said the pair later shook hands and Mr Franklin apologised.

When the party ended, Mr Chandler said he and groups of people were watching a fight between other people when he noticed one of his friends, Wes Toomey, and Mr Franklin were fighting.

“He’s pulled Wes to the ground and that’s when I picked the bottle up off the ground,” Mr Chandler said.

“He was hitting him on the ground, Wes was curled up in a ball.

“We didn’t initiate it. Bon’s not a small man, he was sitting there punching the s*** out of him … he was drunk and off his head.”

Mr Chandler broke down in court as he recalled his “panicked” decision to pick up the bottle and hit Mr Franklin in the head.

“I wasn’t thinking straight at the time.

“There was so much going on … I just panicked and picked the bottle up.

“My mate was on the ground. All I wanted was for him to get off Wes.”

The court heard there was no evidence to suggest Mr Chandler inflicted the puncture wound Mr Franklin sustained during the altercation.

Magistrate Stephen Olischlager told the court there were “significant gaps” in Mr Franklin’s evidence.

“The evidence of Bon Franklin was inconsistent with other witnesses,” Magistrate Olischlager said.

“He gives no detail of other fights occurring even though other fights were taking place.

“He gives no evidence as to how he may have been stabbed.”

Dubbo Local Court Magistrate Stephen Olischlager delivered his judgement on Friday. Picture: Ryan Young

Many of the witnesses called to give evidence during the hearing appeared “evasive” or were “wholly unhelpful” when it came to providing an account of what happened, Magistrate Olischlager said.

“Witnesses prepared to be selective with their memory,” he said.

“The evidence of Mr Jed Chandler was perhaps the most compelling and believable.

“The person with the greatest motivation to lie has provided the most reliable version of events.”

Mr Chandler was prepared to make concessions which were against his interests and he could have easily given more favourable evidence, Magistrate Olischlager said.

“Mr Chandler gives evidence that he was in fear, he panicked and he was surrounded by people who threw bottles and cans … he said he was acting in self defence of his friend Wes Toomey.

“He felt scared and in the presence of people who he did not know and who were acting aggressively towards him.

“Bon Franklin was a larger, older, stronger person compared to Mr Chandler.”

Magistrate Olischlager said police were unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Chandler was not acting in self defence when he hit Mr Franklin over the head with the bottle.

He said the Mr Chandler’s claim he acted in self-defence and in the defence of his friend had been made out.

All charges, including back-up charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm which were laid against Mr Chandler, were dismissed.