Jesse O’Brien: Young Dubbo man sentenced for affray after a two-on-one attack outside the Castlereagh Hotel

A young Dubbo man with little recollection of his involvement in a brutal attack has been sentenced in Dubbo Local Court.

A young Dubbo man with little recollection of his involvement in a brutal attack has been sentenced in Dubbo Local Court.

Jesse O’Brien, 18, appeared in court on Wednesday accompanied by two family members as he pleaded guilty to one charge of affray.

Documents tendered to Dubbo Local Court reveal that in the early hours of February 19, O’Brien and a co-accused were drinking at the Castlereagh Hotel along with the victim in the matter.

All parties then left the hotel, remaining within the view of the premises on Talbragar Street.

Jesse O’Brien pleaded guilty to Affray in Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. Picture: Aymon Bertah

After engaging in a conversation, O’Brien and the co-accused attacked the victim “sparking a physical brawl” in the middle of the road.

“(O’Brien) and (the) co-accused punch the victim several times before the co-accused throws the victim to the ground,” agreed facts reveal.

“The victim struggled to stand back up before the co-accused knocked him back down to the ground again.”

Security from the Castlereagh Hotel attend to the victim a short time later as he was still immobilised on the ground with O’Brien and the co-accused lingering in the area in a “drunken and disorderly manner” in the view of the public.

When police arrived at the scene, they found all parties involved to be verbally abusing each other and engaging in offensive conduct.

O’Brien and the co-accused “were initiating that they wanted to continue to physically fight” according to police facts.

They were arrested and conveyed back to Dubbo Police Station and charged with affray.

The court heard from O’Brien’s lawyer Jai Silkman who accepted that his client was significantly intoxicated, and as a result does not have a good memory of the incident.

Mr Silkman appealed to Magistrate Mal Macpherson pointing towards O’Brien’s clean record prior to this incident, highlighting that it only occurred for around 20 seconds and there were no sustained injuries from the victim.

In assessing the incident, Magistrate Macpherson noted Mr Silkman’s submission that there were no injuries as a result of the attack, however, he continued saying it was a “classic example of the level of alcohol (consumed) and common sense disappearing”.

“People can end up seriously injured, you’re 18 and could have had your life ruined,” Magistrate Macpherson told O’Brien.

“If you are going to be drinking alcohol, you need to be in control.”

In handing O’Brien a 12 month conditional release order, Magistrate Macpherson sent a warning to the 18-year-old.

“Just remember you only get one of these in your lifetime, make sure that you don’t put yourself in a similar situation in the future,” Magistrate Macpherson said.