Blue Mountains: Adam Siri Stricke given last chance to avoid jail
A repeat violent offender from the Blue Mountains has been given one last chance to avoid jail and turn his life around.
The Blue Mountains News
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Repeat violent offender Adam Siri Stricke has been given one last chance to avoid jail and turn his life around after becoming a first-time dad.
Magistrate James Gibson has issued the 32-year-old from Megalong Valley a 12-month Intensive Corrective Order (ICO) after he pleaded guilty in Katoomba Local Court to assaulting a flatmate over loud music on November 4, 2018.
Stricke’s defense solicitor told the court six days after the incident Stricke's partner — seen with Stricke in the courtroom holding his hand — gave birth to their son and ‘‘that's been a considerable wake-up call for him’’.
But Magistrate Gibson said he could not ignore that Stricke had previously, while drunk, assaulted a security guard ‘‘who came to his aid’’ and been convicted on a mid-range drink-driving charge and consequently breached his good behaviour bond.
‘‘He’s run out of chances,’’ Magistrate Gibson said noting on this occasion Stricke had been playing music while drinking, ‘‘probably annoying them (the flatmate) ... when the other person cut the electricity’’ and he’s then threatened the flatmate.
‘‘If there was some minor injury I wouldn’t hesitate to send him into jail,’’ he said.
The court heard that since the birth of his son Stricke had got himself a full-time job and he is now seeing a counsellor for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with a back injury he sustained in 2001, when he ‘‘developed a problem with excessive alcohol consumption’’.
‘‘He's curbed his drinking and no longer uses cannabis on a regular basis,’’ Stricke’s defence solicitor added. ‘‘He confirms that he’s on medication.’’
The defence solicitor told the court the incident with the roommate was ‘‘not trivial ... but in terms of offending behaviour, it’s at the lowest end’’ and asked the magistrate to award community service.
Magistrate Gibson was unswayed and told Stricke: ‘‘I’m tossing up whether I’m sending you into custody full time’’ but he also took into account Stricke had made ‘‘changes to be a father’’ and that he had pled guilty to assaulting his former flatmate.
Instead of sending him to prison, he imposed an ICO adding as conditions that Stricke undertake drug and alcohol relapse prevention counselling and abstain from alcohol.
An ICO is served in the community under the strict supervision of Corrective Services NSW.