Adam Anderson: St Leonards man sentenced for KFC violence

A night out in Sydney’s north shore went terribly wrong for a drunken man after he attempted to steal food from diners tucking into their KFC dinners.

A night out at a KFC in Sydney’s north shore went terribly wrong for a drunken man after he tried to steal food from diners tucking into their fried chicken and chips.

Adam Scott Anderson, of St Leonards, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault at Hornsby Local Court on Wednesday.

About 7pm on May 16, the 42-year-old, who was already on a conditional release order for cocaine possession, attacked a security guard working at St Leonards Forum Plaza, a court heard.

“(The security guard) was alerted to Anderson acting disorderly ... and was approached by a number of members of the public claiming Anderson had been attempting to steal KFC food from the patrons,” documents tendered to Hornsby Local Court state.

The court heard Anderson was removed from the KFC because of his drunken behaviour. He then started arguing with the security guard when told he needed to leave the plaza.

“(Anderson) stated to the victim (the security guard), “Fine, I will break your jaw then” before immediately using his open right palm to slap the victim,” agreed police facts state.

Adam Anderson leaving Hornsby Local Court.

His drunken efforts to eat some greasy KFC ended in violence.

A court heard the victim and another security guard grabbed Anderson’s shoulders to restrain him.

“Following this, a short struggle ensued resulting in all three parties ending up on the ground,” court documents state.

Anderson’s actions turned violent after being removed from a KFC.

“While on the ground, Anderson grabbed hold of the victim’s right hand and began forcibly bending his fingers backwards ... and shouted, “I’m going to break your fingers”.

When police arrived, they found Anderson lying on the ground in front of the KFC with the two security guards still struggling to restrain him, the court heard.

“While interacting with Anderson, it was clear he was seriously affected by intoxicating liquor,” police facts state.

“He smelt offensively of intoxicating liquor, had bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils, and was unsteady on his feet ... he was also unable to communicate with police coherently, only grunting in response and unable to answer questions.”

In court, Anderson’s defence lawyer Michael Blair said his client has had a lifelong struggle with alcohol and relapsed after a job offer fell through this April.

“The short story is that his new employer then rescinded a contract and Mr Anderson completely freaked out and relapsed,” Mr Blair said.

“He has apologised to the victim and to the court (for his actions).”

Magistrate Michelle Goodwin told the court although Anderson had serious problems with substance abuse.

“The facts in these matters do not read very well at all,” Ms Goodwin said.

“Gratuitous violence in the community will simply not be tolerated ... the community is appalled by alcohol fuelled violence”.

For his offences, Anderson was convicted and placed on a 12-month community corrections order and fined $500.