Marty Edwards sentenced for biting cop just days after he was released from jail
A former concreter and cemetery worker who bit a cop’s thumb nail off eight days after he got out of jail will walk free from Junee Correctional Centre later this month. FIND OUT WHY
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A schizophrenic Dubbo drug addict was released from jail just eight days before he went on an ice bender and bit a police officer’s thumb nail off, a court has heard.
Marty Edwards, 25, will walk free from jail again on September 29 despite a fresh conviction for assaulting a police officer and causing actual bodily harm.
After two officers were called to a Narromine home to conduct a welfare check on Edwards on July 30 last year, he initially shook their hands but soon started to believe the officers intended to take his daughter.
As a sergeant tried to talk to another person at the home, Edwards stood between the pair and pushed the sergeant.
The officers pushed Edwards into a lounge chair and he started kicking, swinging his arms and wrestling with them.
During the dispute Edwards bit the sergeant’s right thumb and would not let go.
When the sergeant ripped his thumb out of Edwards’s mouth, his right thumb nail fell off.
The other officer at the scene used capsicum spray on Edwards, but it had little effect and he ran into a bedroom where he was held face down on a bed and handcuffed.
The sergeant Edwards bit was left with broken finger tip and his thumbnail will never grow back.
Edwards was sentenced in the Dubbo District Court on Tuesday.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Nanette Williams accepted expert evidence which concluded Edwards was schizophrenic and had a longstanding battle with drug addiction.
“There is a substantial link between the offenders mental health issues and the offending behaviour,” Judge Williams said.
“His mental health issues would make custody more onerous for him.”
Judge Williams said Edwards’ mental illness meant he would not have fully understood the consequences of his actions when he bit the sergeant.
“The offender had been smoking crystal methamphetamine daily for three days prior (to the assault).
“He had not slept for three days and he admitted that he felt quite confused at the time.
“He didn’t know why the police were there, he thought they were congratulating him for completing parole.”
Judge Williams said Edwards had “last served an aggregate term of imprisonment for multiple counts of stalk intimidate offences only eight days prior” to the latest crime which landed him behind bars.
The court Edwards was also reportedly traumatised after working at a cemetery when he was younger and the death of two of his brothers at a young age.
“I find that the offender is remorseful given the early plea of guilty,” Judge Williams said.
Edwards was sentenced to 28 months in jail, backdated to when he first entered custody.
He will be eligible for parole on September 29 and Judge Williams said a longer period on parole — about half the total prison term — was needed to ensure Edwards got support from parole officers to reintegrate into the community.