Teen in custody over brutal attack at war memorial gardens
A teen alleged to have bashed two people and defaced a beloved war memorial at Chatswood has broken down in court after a magistrate slammed his “cowardly acts” against strangers.
Hornsby
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A teen who allegedly unleashed a brutal attack on strangers at the Garden of Remembrance war memorial in Chatswood has cried in court after learning his bail application had been denied.
Carl Irinco, 18, of Hornsby Heights, has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the company of others, three counts of affray and wilful damage or deface any protected place.
In October, the teenager was on bail over drug matters when he and a co-accused allegedly began the unprovoked assault within the grounds of the solemn memorial to soldiers lost in battle.
At Hornsby Court on Thursday, Magistrate Bruce Williams said Irinco’s actions constituted a “cowardly act”, which had also been caught on CCTV.
“The accused was walking near gardens in Chatswood and turned on a person and assaulted him significantly,” Magistrate Williams said.
“He threw punches at this person who couldn’t defend themselves and continued to throw punches.
“The victim fell to the ground and the co-accused kicked and punched the victim while he was laying on the ground, which is a cowardly act.”
Magistrate Williams said the victim had then used his phone and when Irinco heard the man speak he started punching him again.
The person the victim called was a friend walking down the street.
“He saw the accused and his mate and then both the co-accused and accused threw punches at the second victim.”
He said Irinco had an opportunity to finish the attack at that point - but he wasn’t satisfied.
“It’s a very concerning assault due to its random nature,” Magistrate Williams said.
“All he did was say something to him and then a violent assault was inflicted on that person. “When (Irinco) had an opportunity to calm down, he could have moved away but he came back and continued the assault.”
The magistrate said Irinco would be a risk to the public if he was released.
“It’s possible he could be confronted again and violence inflicted on the community. He was on bail for some serious dug matters on September 30 and on good behaviour. This clearly breaches his bail conditions.”
Court papers revealed that between 3.10pm and 3.30pm Irinco had also wilfully defaced a war memorial and was complicit in desecrating a memorial pillar.
There were a number of people who witnessed the incident and it was recorded on CCTV.
Irinco was refused bail. He is yet to make a plea and his case will return on December 18.