Surfside man Daniel Sweet pleads guilty to breaking into cancer survivor’s home

A pensioner living on the NSW south coast who offered to help a drunken man find his phone instead found himself fearing for life. Find out how a kind act had a horrible twist.

Surfside man Daniel Sweet pleaded guilty to Batemans Bay Local Court to aggravated break and enter. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

A Batemans Bay man who broke into the home of a pensioner and cancer survivor before wrestling him to the floor in a headlock told police he had no memory of the event.

Daniel Sweet, 34, fronted Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter after forcing his way into a 75-year-old man’s Surfside home on June 16.

About 4pm, Sweet returned to the seaside suburb from Batemans Bay after consuming at least two flasks of Jim Bean bourbon, agreed police facts revealed.

Coming within 150m of his own home, Sweet realised he had dropped his phone and began yelling.

“The victim was inside his home watching TV when he heard Sweet yelling,” agreed police facts state.

Surfside man Daniel Sweet pleaded guilty to Batemans Bay Local Court to aggravated break and enter. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

“He went outside and spoke to Sweet and offered to help him look for his lost phone.”

While walking up and down the street with torches, Sweet fell several times due to his intoxication.

The victim helped him up before placing him in an outside lounge chair on the pensioner’s front porch.

Leaving him with a blanket, the victim went inside to call the police for assistance.

“After a time, Sweet stood up and approached the victim’s front door and yelled: “’ let me in’,” police documents reveal.

“The victim said: ‘no, go and sit back on the lounge’.

“Sweet replied: ‘I’ll kick the door in’.”

After attempting to open the security door, Sweet kicked the glass panel of the front door, causing the glass to shatter inward.

Shards were scattered throughout the front lounge room, police said, while the pensioner remained in the kitchen.

“Sweet then entered the lounge room through the broken front door and immediately marched towards the victim,” police facts reveal.

“He started swinging punches at the victim, which connected with his ribs-chest-torso area and made verbal threats to the victim.

“Sweet and the victim then became involved in a protracted wrestle for about 20 minutes.

Batemans Bay Local Court. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

“At several points, Sweet wrapped his arms around the victim’s head and throat in a headlock.”

The victim threw several punches in defence, hitting Sweet in the head.

Repeatedly trying to disengage himself from the fight, the victim later told police he feared for his life due to Sweet’s being much younger and stronger, as well as his level of intoxication and aggressiveness.

Several of the victim’s belongings, including chairs and pot plants, were overturned during the wrestle, and at one point, Sweet’s head hit the wall, which caused a large hole.

“The victim was eventually able to free himself and ran to his next door neighbour’s house and asked for assistance,” police facts reveal.

“The neighbour returned to the house with the victim and found Sweet lying on the ground on the top of the shattered glass in the doorway.

“The neighbour assisted Sweet to the outside lounge chair. Sweet was still aggressive and irate, yelling: ‘Don't call the cops’.”

Police arrived shortly after and placed Sweet under arrest.

At Batemans Bay Police Station, he admitted to drinking heavily and claimed to have not remembered the event.

Told of what he had done, police said Sweet was “emotionally distressed”.

The victim received a graze to his cheek, a small cut to his hand, redness to both cheeks, and soreness to his ribs and chest as a result of the incident.

Sweet will appear before Bega District Court on November 28 for sentencing.