Steven Mesevic: Jarrod Chain narrowly avoids jail on affray charge
Two men got into a wrestle in a western Sydney 7-Eleven, knocking food off the shelves and crushing two muffins after one of them took offence to the other and punched him in the face.
Penrith
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A man who punched another man in the face at a western Sydney service station because “he gave me a smug look” has narrowly avoided jail.
Jarrod Michael Chain, 42, of St Clair, pleaded guilty to a charge of affray over the incident at the Jamisontown 7-Eleven on May 18.
According to court documents, Chain arrived at the service station on Mulgoa Rd at about 1.15pm to put fuel in his car.
He then entered the store to pay for his parking and queued behind Steven Mesevic.
Chain was described as breathing heavily, swaying back and forth and pumping up his chest while waiting in the line.
Mr Mesevic paid for his fuel and turned to leave the store when there were words exchanged between him and Chain.
Chain then punched him in the face, causing him to stumble back, before punching him again.
The court heard the two men then started to wrestle after Mr Mesevic defended himself, knocking food off the store’s shelves and causing two muffins to go to waste.
Chain later drove away from the scene in a red Mitsubishi Lancer, while Mr Mesevic re-entered the store to apologise to the manager, the court heard.
Mr Mesevic was not charged over his involvement in the incident.
Police attended Chain’s address on June 3 where he made admissions to the affray on body-worn camera.
He told police “he gave me a smug look, so I said ‘what is your problem man?’. He gave me another look when he turned back, so I hit him”.
Police said Chain and Mr Mesevic did not know each other before the unprovoked attack.
During his appearance at Penrith Local Court on Tuesday, Magistrate Geoff Hiatt described the incident as a “disgraceful action”.
“I would assess the objective seriousness to be below the mid-range, but it’s not in a normal context,” he said.
“There’s a history before the courts that dates back to 1996. There’s a previous history of violence, a conviction of malicious wounding in 2003, and an assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2009.
“You’ve been assessed as a medium risk of reoffending.”
Magistrate Hiatt sentenced Chain to a 12-month intensive corrections order with 120 hours of community service.
Chain must also refrain from all alcohol and drugs.