Tristan Kent: Rally car driver accused of ‘biting partner’s earlobe off’ refused bail
A rally car driver has been refused bail for a third time after he was arrested and charged over allegations he grabbed his partner by the throat and bit her earlobe off.
Illawarra Star
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An Illawarra man accused of biting off his partner’s earlobe during a fight has been refused bail for a third time despite claims he was “acting in self defence”.
Mt Warrigal’s Tristan Kent, 29, was refused bail at Wollongong Local Court by Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim on Tuesday, after his lawyer made a third bid for bail after his hearing was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kent, a semi-professional rally car racer, has pleaded not guilty to five charges, including two counts of strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, reckless grievous bodily harm and possess prohibited firearm, after a disagreement over an “inappropriate joke” allegedly turned violent.
In a set of police facts tendered to the court, it was alleged following an afternoon of drinking with friends in January, the pair had a “small disagreement” over an inappropriate joke Kent made, which prompted his girlfriend to start packing her belongings in an effort to leave.
As the argument escalated, police allege Kent grabbed his girlfriend by the throat, before biting her right forearm, allegedly leaving behind bite marks and bruising.
After this, Kent allegedly went back to his neighbours, before returning to his Mt Warrigal home around midnight, where the fight kicked back off.
In court documents, police again allege Kent put his girlfriend in a chokehold, which she told police made her “dizzy” and she thought she would pass out.
In effort to break free, she allegedly bit Kent’s arm, prompting him to bite down on her right ear.
Court documents state the alleged bite caused “a portion of her right helix to detach from the ear” and that the “upper helix split vertically toward the top of her ear.”
The woman fled the home after the alleged attack, driving herself to Shellharbour Hospital for treatment.
Kent was arrested the next morning.
During a later search of the home, police allegedly located a black ‘Airsoft’ pistol and a large amount of ammunition, which Kent did not have a license to possess.
On Tuesday, Kent’s defence lawyer told the court he’d spent a significant period on remand in custody, given it was pushed back due to the pandemic.
“He’s now done six months on remand in custody and the delay isn’t a fault of his own,” he said.
He also told Magistrate Abdul-Karim the alleged victim no longer lived in NSW, and that Kent no longer posed a risk to her.
Despite arguing his client could report daily or undertake drug and alcohol counselling, Magistrate Abdul-Karim refused the application for release to bail, noting the risks he posed couldn’t be mitigated.
“There still remains an unacceptable risk of endangering the community and the victim,” he said.
The matter will return to court for hearing on September 14.