Amateur boxer Robert Conte to stay behind bars over violent Chelsea Heights home invasion
An amateur Victorian boxing champion has been KO’d in court for ditching the ring in favour of enforcing a $2800 drug debt, brutally beating a father and son with a hammer and baton
Bendigo
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An amatuer boxer known as ‘The Italian Stallion’ who attacked a father and son with a baton and hammer over a drug debt will spend at least a year behind bars for his “frigthening” attack
Robert Conte, 25, of Shepparton, fronted the County Court in Bendigo on Tuesday for sentencing having earlier pleaded guilty to to charges including intentionally causing injury, common law assault and property damage.
The court heard Conte, in the role of an enforcer chasing a $2800 drug debt went to a Chelsea Heights home on June 24 last year with a co-accused, where he assaulted the father and son in a brutal assault lasting eight minutes.
Both men were left with fractured cheek bones before emergency services were called.
Conte left the house and threw the hammer through the front window, shattering the glass.
The court heard he was arrested by Queensland police in July and extradited to Victoria.
On Tuesday, Judge Michael Cahill said the attack would have been a “frightening experience” for the victims.
“Your violence was calculated to intimidate them to enforce payments of an associate’s drug debt,” he said.
“In relation to the assault charges, it is a serious example of the offending.”
The court heard Conte had been couch surfing and abusing cannabis at the time of the offending.
Judge Cahill noted Conte’s letter of apology and personal circumstances throughout the sentencing, saying it “demonstrated remorse”.
Conte was sentenced to serve two years behind bars with a non-parole period of one year.
Judge Cahill said he was “confident” Conte could “reform” himself.
“The change must come from within you,” he said.
“Good luck”.
Conte has already spent 350 days behind bars in pre-sentence detention.
If he hadn’t pleaded guilty, Judge Cahill told the court he would have sentenced Conte to spend three years in jail with a two year non-parole period.
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