Joel Cooney: Ron De Vu bar owner to attend rehab after allegedly choking girlfriend
A Wollongong bar owner who allegedly smashed his girlfriend’s head into her own kitchen tiles, choked her and threatened to kill her at her Sydney home has told a court he is going to rehab.
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A popular Wollongong bar owner accused of strangling his partner and threatening to kill her has had his bail suspended so he can enter a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
Ron De Vu bar owner Joel Cooney was first arrested and charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and reckless choking on January 17 after police allege he attacked his partner of 18 months at her Taren Point home.
The sickening allegations include claims Cooney smashed his girlfriend’s head into her own kitchen tiles, held her mouth and nose so she could not breathe or scream for help, and choked her before threatening to kill her.
In court documents, police allege Cooney had read messages on his partner’s phone between her and a male friend after he drove her home from a friend’s place in Gymea.
Police will allege an “irate” Cooney stormed upstairs, grabbed his partner’s leg, dragged her out of bed, and pulled her downstairs into the kitchen where he smashed her head on the tiled floor.
Police then allege Conney knelt over her, placed both hands around her neck and started strangling her.
According to court documents the woman told police Cooney had “a crazy look in his eyes” and that at one point she passed out, before waking to find his hand back around her throat.
It is alleged she tried to scream for help, but Cooney covered her mouth and allegedly squeezed her nostrils shut so she couldn’t breath.
Cooney allegedly smashed her head into the tiles again, before pulling her face close to his and allegedly saying “I’ll f***ing kill you.”
The woman was able to escape Cooney and run to a neighbour’s home, who allegedly told police they had heard screams coming from a nearby home.
A prosecution witness told police they believed Cooney was under the influence of drugs when they saw him after the savage alleged assault.
Cooney’s solicitor appeared by email at Sutherland Local Court on Monday where he had Cooney excused from living at his Wollongong address and reporting to police as per his bail conditions from August 4 until September 7.
The court heard Cooney’s bail conditions would be suspended so he can attend a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.
His matter returns to Sutherland Local Court on August 25 for mention.
