Olympic shooter Michael Diamond lodges appeal over harassing brother John
Just three days before Olympic shooter Michael Diamond celebrates his 20-year anniversary of winning gold in Sydney, he’s lodged an appeal in court after being convicted of harassing his brother.
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Just days before Olympic shooter Michael Diamond celebrates his 20 year anniversary of winning gold in Sydney, he’s come to court to lodge an appeal over a sentence he received in July for harassing his brother John.
On July 3, the Olympian was charged with using a carriage service to harass his brother, calling him more than 30 times from a private number. He was also slapped with an apprehended violence order (AVO).
He was convicted and sentenced to a conditional release order for two years in Toronto Local Court.
The relationship between the siblings had become “bitter” with court documents stating the pair had a long ongoing dispute for the past decade.
There was also “bad blood” over a dispute relating to a family estate.
In Newcastle District Court on Monday, Diamond’s lawyer told the court there was an error regarding a $45,000 payment.
He said despite police facts stating Diamond told his brother he was going to get him and “I’m going to sort you out”, he said his client denied saying that and wanted to dispute the facts.
Judge Tim Gartlemann said given there was a factual dispute that needed to be resolved, he adjourned the matter for a further sentence hearing next month, before the appeal application can be accepted.
Following a 2016 incident in Port Stephens, Diamond was found guilty of high range drink driving in which police claim they found a shotgun in an unlocked case in the back of his car.
As a result, he was ruled ineligible for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Those firearms charges were later quashed.
But in 2017, he decided to auction off his 2000 Sydney Olympic gold medal for $72,000.
Thursday this week will be exactly 20 years since Diamond won that medal.
In December last year, Diamond also sold off his 1996 Atlanta Olympic gold medal to help support his family as he battled serious health issues.
It went for $50,000.