Sonny Middleton: Heathcote police station doorstep attack as dad beat a man on video

A man who ran to the Heathcote police station for safety was punched 13 times in 46 seconds – and it was all captured on CCTV.

Heathcote Police Station on High St. Picture: Google Earth

A White Hills father and his brother jumped a man and his dog on the doorsteps of a Bendigo region police station.

Sonny Middleton appeared in Bendigo Magistrates Court last month and pleaded guilty to his role in a gruesome attack where he punched a man 13 times in 46 seconds — within metres of the Heathcote police station.

Court documents reveal the White Hills man and his brother had an “ongoing feud” with the victim.

The bubbling resentment between the three men boiled over on September 21, 2020.

The man was on his morning walk with his dog on High St, when the brothers pulled up in their ute.

According to court documents the exact details of the altercation aren’t known but the man and his dog left the brothers and started walking towards the police station.

CCTV footage played in court captured the next moments in horrific detail.

As the man approached the station, the brothers’ white Land Cruiser jerked to a stop in the middle of the street.

The man started trying to run to safety as Middleton jumped out of the ute and toward the victim.

Footage shows after a brief conversation Middleton lunges at the man.

The White Hills father grabbed the man by the throat and head and pushed him into the glass foyer at the front of the police station.

He then punched the man four times to the head, swinging three times with his right fist and a fourth with his right.

Middleton’s brother who was parking the ute arrived to grab the victim in a headlock, while Middleton punched the immobilised man another nine times to the head and body.

The man was punched 13 times in just 46 seconds by Middleton — all caught on camera.

Officers came out and yelled for the men stop.

Neither of the brothers were arrested, and instead returned to their ute while still verbally abusing the victim.

Court documents reveal the beaten man yelled at police, who tried to calm him down and get a statement, but he refused and left.

Police said the brothers were interviewed the next day and refused to give comment, however after watching the footage both admitted it “was not a good look”.

Middleton’s lawyer and the police prosecutor did not agree on all the details of the assault, but accepted the summary as part of an early guilty plea to the affray using unlawful violence.

Middleton pleaded guilty to the charges on Wednesday, April 14.

Magistrate Megan Aumair called the White Hills father’s behaviour “thuggish”, but acknowledged he was facing a family crisis as his son was ill.

“As a parent anyone would have found that heartbreaking,” Ms Aumair said.

Middleton was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order, including 150 hours of community work and anger management training.