Nathan John Fenton, 36, sentenced over assault of woman at Labrador
A man who stab a stranger at a Gold Coast shopping centre in an unprovoked attack has been charged over another violent assault. Read what happened
Police & Courts
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A man who stabbed a stranger outside a Gold Coast supermarket has been sentenced over another violent assault.
Nathan John Fenton plead guilty to 17 charges in Southport Magistrates Court on Friday including assault occasioning bodily harm involving an unprovoked May 8 attack at Labrador.
The court heard a woman Fenton was staying with became involved in a heated discussion with another female over money.
“The victim has seen the defendant (Fenton) coming running out of the dwelling holding a chair in his hands,” Police Prosecutor Sergeant Blair Casey said.
“The defendant became verbally abusive towards the victim and then struck her across the finger with the chair causing an injury.”
The court heard as the victim was trying to get up off the ground Fenton took a second swing, narrowly avoiding hitting her with the chair.
“The defendant has a lengthy 13-page relevant criminal history dating back to 2004,” Sergeant Casey said.
“He’s been sentenced to property and drug offending, breaches against the bail act as well as offences of violence.
“He’s been sentenced to multiple periods of imprisonment and continues to demonstrate he has not been rehabilitated and has not been deterred.”
Among his offending, Fenton was sentenced to three years in June 2022 after he stabbed a stranger three times during an attack outside a Mudgeeraba Woolworths.
The 37-year-old’s lawyer Sharan Kang said her client struggled with “underlying issues” which had contributed to his offending. “Unfortunately your honour, when my client was a young child he instructs that he became a ‘street kid’ to use his words at approximately age 15,” Ms Kang said.
“There was no stability in the home and unfortunately he found himself on the streets.”
Fenton audibly sobbed in court as his upbringing was detailed to the court, including the sudden loss of his wife months prior to assault in May.
“He’s never been able to come to terms with her loss,” Ms Kang said. “Unfortunately since her passing and at the time of these offences he had relapsed and fallen back to using illicit substances.”
Ms Kang said Fenton had taken steps to turn his life around, gaining qualifications in personal training and scaffolding, which he hoped to put to use once released from custody. Taking into account his guilty plea, remorse and the steps he has taken towards rehabilitation, Fenton was sentenced to 15 months, with 85 days of custody accepted as time already served.
He was granted immediate parole.
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