Mount Hutton: Stephen Kopmels escapes jail time after mowing down neighbour over garden hose dispute
It was a petty dispute over an alleged stolen garden hose that escalated into a life-threatening situation when one neighbour mowed another down with his car. Here’s what happened in court.
Newcastle
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A man has narrowly escaped prison time after mowing down his neighbour with his car following a petty dispute over a hose.
Stephen Kopmels rang triple-0 on the evening of May 25, 2023 claiming his neighbour had stolen a hose from his residence at a block of units at Mount Hutton in Lake Macquarie.
But what transpired hours later left the 37-year-old on life support and with a traumatic brain injury after a court heard Kopmels smashed into the man’s e-scooter with his Holden Captiva on Warners Bay Rd, throwing him violently onto the nature strip before he fled.
A court heard a witness in a home nearby was sitting on his lounge when he heard the car accelerate and then a “thud”.
The man was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital, suffering significant injuries including a severe traumatic brain injury, a number of facial fractures and internal injuries.
The court heard he told a friend “he f**ked up” following the attack.
Kopmels was arrested at Belmont Police Station the following day and charged.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, failing to stop and assist and drive whilst disqualified during a super call-over.
In Newcastle District Court on Tuesday, Kopmels’ defence barrister Robert Cavanaugh said a low education and background of abuse explained to some degree his behaviour on the night – as well as a “degree of impulsivity”.
While Judge Roy Ellis agreed it seemed there was no intention to hit his neighbour, he was driving dangerously and as a result there was a serious consequence.
Defence argued for the consideration of an intensive correction order (ICO), a jail sentence to be served within the community, which Mr Ellis eventually granted, agreeing incarceration may be detrimental to his prospects of rehabilitation.
“There was some bad blood between them,” Mr Ellis said.
He was sentenced to a three year ICO with conditions he abstain from drugs and alcohol.
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