Sam Fonua, Easther and Tina Sene: Rosemeadow gatecrash trio convicted
A family-friendly birthday bash filled with music, footy and laughs quickly turned into a nightmare when gatecrashers stormed the southwest Sydney home and inflicted terror.
Macarthur
Don't miss out on the headlines from Macarthur. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Sydney high school shut after Year 7 COVID case
- Man who crushed grandmother with 4WD sentenced to jail
It was meant to be a family-friendly birthday bash, with 25 people drinking, laughing, listening to music and watching footy at a Rosemeadow home. However, March 24, 2019, was the final time the former residents of 12 Charmain Place set foot in the property after gatecrashers trashed, bashed and inflicted terror at the home.
Dean Barlow and his mum Jo Smith were hosting a birthday party for Dean’s mate Jack, but uninvited guests began to ruin the mood about 9pm. After moving on one group of wannabe gatecrashers, two more cars filled with girls and a single guy rolled up to the house.
The agreed facts tendered to Campbelltown District Court state the girls, after being told to leave, got aggressive with one of them hitting Dean’s brother Brendan twice over the head with a glass bottle. When loading up to swing for a third time, the girl was pushed over and the group left.
Snapchat messages threatening Brendan, saying “boys were stomping on our heads”, began to circulate and at 1am, partygoers were warned gatecrashers were coming.
A group of people arrived in multiple cars, including Ambarvale women Tina and Easther Sene, aged 26 and 22, and 25-year-old Sam Fonua, of South Granville.
When the uninvited guests failed to kick through the front door, unknown people ripped the garage door off its tracks and the gatecrashers ran into the backyard, court documents state.
One of the Sene women was then seen picking up a BBQ gas bottle and hurling it at a glass door, before ultimately smashing the glass with a bar stool.
The group stormed the home and bashed Dean, with an unknown man throwing a salt lamp at his mum.
Police arrived at the home filled with broken glass and ordered everyone to the ground, soon discovering a young girl crying in the bathroom.
The Sene women and Fonua were arrested at the scene and later pleaded guilty to reckless break and enter committing affray. The agreed facts state it can’t be proved the trio were involved in assaulting partygoers or ripping off the garage door.
In a statement to police, Dean Barlow said he had “nightmares for weeks” and that “it was the worst night of my life”.
He revealed his family moved out that night and stayed at a relative’s place before finding a new home because “we were so scared of them coming back”.
In Campbelltown District Court on Thursday, the trio were convicted and sentenced to an 18-month Intensive Correction Order, which is a jail sentence serviced in the community.
They were also ordered to complete 150 hours of community service.