Paul Rooney: Dandenong North man fronts court for offending on booze, drugs
A Dandenong North man who hit the booze and pokies with his ex lashed out at her and his mother as he life unravelled after the death of his father.
South East
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A former glassworker hit the booze and gambled with his ex-partner, before assaulting her in a drunk and violent outburst.
Paul Rooney, 45, told the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court he fell into negative drinking and drug abuse habits when he switched to using synthetic cannabis to avoid detection in mandatory drug tests at his previous workplace.
The Dandenong North man spent an afternoon at the pokies with his ex-partner, who he met in a detox program, before they both returned home and had an argument in December 2021.
He then pushed her to the ground, an incident seen by his mother.
The court heard that on another occasion, a neighbour heard Rooney yelling at his mother, and saw him acting erratically and in an intimidating manner towards her.
Rooney was imprisoned after failing to attend court, and spent 25 days in custody, “scaring him straight”.
He said his negative behaviour spiralled out of control after his father died in 2021, and he was unable to visit him in his aged care home, due to Covid visiting restrictions.
Rooney said he had struggled with substance abuse since switching from natural to synthetic cannabis in his 30s, and had continually self-referred to detox programs and counselling.
Rooney was represented by Bridie O’Malley, who highlighted his lack of prior offending and said he had taken every opportunity given to him to heal his negative behaviour and move forward.
“He had never come to the attention of police, until August 2021, and he has completed two detox programs, to which he referred himself,” Ms O’Malley told the court.
“Mr Rooney went through six months of counselling in 2021, at which point he thought he could self-manage, and this is where he took a downward turn.”
She also said that Rooney had since ended the relationship with his ex-partner, acknowledging it as “nothing but negative”.
Magistrate Jason Ong said Rooney was a “completely different person”, and said the sentence “would have been very different”, back in February, before his treatment.
The court ordered Mr Rooney to pay a fine of $1000 without conviction, and continue his health treatment plan.
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