Phillip Santa Lucia pleads guilty to assault after thrashing colleague at Melbourne Market Epping
A Melbourne Market forklift driver had the living daylights beaten out of him after he made derogatory remarks about a colleague’s pregnant wife. The man only stopped pummelling him after their workmates intervened.
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A forklift driver who pummelled his colleague after the man made degrading remarks about his wife and their unborn child has avoided conviction.
Phillip Santa Lucia faced the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on February 13 where he pleaded guilty to unlawful assault over the incident on September 18, 2018.
Senior Constable Matt Isaac told the court both men worked as forklift drivers at the Melbourne Market in Epping and had been having an argument when things turned nasty.
Mr Santa Lucia punched the man up to 11 times in the head before putting him in a headlock and pulling him to the ground where he continued to hit the man
The assault only ceased after other workers intervened and pulled Mr Santa Lucia off the other man, Sen-Constable Isaac told the court.
Mr Santa Lucia’s defence lawyer told the court her client had been through a particularly rough time emotionally leading up to the offence.
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She told the court Mr Santa Lucia’s wife was pregnant with their child at the time but the couple had only recently been told the baby was not developing properly and doctor’s had given them the option to abort.
“It doesn’t excuse the behaviour at all your honour … there had been some disparaging remarks made about Mr Santa Lucia’s wife,” his lawyer said.
“She had to give birth to a 5-month-old stillborn baby and that did cause quite a bit of distress to Mr Santa Lucia and his wife.”
Magistrate Stephen Ballek fined Mr Santa Lucia $750 without conviction.