Spartans Gym Kilsyth: Andre Comparini attacks man in sauna
A muscle-bound Lilydale man left a stranger with permanent eye damage and a chipped tooth when he unexpectedly attacked him at a Kilsyth gym. The steroid and drug abuser also focused his anger on police.
Outer East
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A man attacked a stranger at a Kilsyth gym, leaving the victim with permanent eye damage and a chipped tooth, before he assaulted police at the popular 1000 Steps.
Andre Comparini fronted Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court over the violent offences on Tuesday, July 29, also facing charges for criminal damage and serious matters that cannot be published.
The court heard the 34-year-old punched a man in the head in an unexpected attack in the sauna at Spartans Gym Kilsyth on July 6, 2018.
Leading Senior Constable Andrew Williams said Comparini entered the sauna and poured water onto the rocks, causing the space to steam up, before the victim said Comparini should have asked the other sauna users beforehand.
The victim turned and continued talking to his friends and 30 seconds later was struck by Comparini.
He ran to reception for help, while Comparini followed, yelling abuse.
Comparini then left the gym and the victim was taken to Maroondah Hospital by ambulance.
The court heard the man was then sent to the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and was unable to work or exercise for six weeks.
A victim impact statement revealed the man suffered permanent eye damage, needing sunglasses to avoid pain from bright light, and emotional trauma.
Comparini also assaulted a senior constable in the carpark of 1000 Steps early on July 14, 2019.
Police saw Comparini sitting in his white ute and had a whereabouts for his arrest.
He resisted arrest and when he was eventually handcuffed, spat on an officer’s face.
Leading Senior Constable Williams said when police pushed Comparini towards their van, he grabbed the officer’s vest and pushed, causing both men to fall over.
Comparini then continued to fight off police, leaving the officer with grazed knees and a strained finger.
Police had been after Comparini since he damaged an Ascot house in April 2019.
He was managing the Body Beyond Supplements Bendigo store at the time and living in the owner’s property with another employee.
He allegedly believed there were people in the roof of the Ascot house when he searched the roof cavity, repeatedly falling through the ceiling.
He also punched a hole in the wall and kicked in the locked front door, causing a total of $4160 damage, then denied living there when it occurred.
The Lilydale man also breached a community corrections order.
The court heard he had suffered from cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, steroid and prescription medication abuse, as well as mental health issues, and had previously spent four years in a NSW prison for firearms offences.
Comparini pleaded guilty to the charges after Magistrate Stephen Ballek indicated he would sentence him to a jail term and a corrections order.
He was ordered to six months in jail, with 84 days having already been served, and two concurrent 18-month corrections orders.
Mr Ballek said he would have ordered 15 months’ jail with a non-parole period of nine-months but for the guilty plea.
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