Adam Dallas Deegan has faced the Northern Territory Supreme Court after assaulting the owner of a car before stealing it

A Territory justice has expressed frustration at thugs who steal cars and assault their owners after one brute knocked an older man out in a brazen attack.

Drunken yobbos violently attacking car owners and stealing their vehicles are becoming more common across the Territory, a leading legal mind says.

Justice Judith Kelly, who handles cases in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, was commenting on the need to deter one such offender when she expressed her frustration with criminals.

“This sort of offending is prevalent, and there is far too much of it about,” Justice Kelly told offender Adam Dallas Deegan while sentencing him.

“Drunken young men committing robberies, particularly robbing people of their cars, seems to be becoming more common.”

Deegan faced the Supreme Court on December 22, 2022, pleading guilty to one charge of aggravated robbery of a motor vehicle, failing to supply or submit to a breath analysis and driving while disqualified.

The 35-year-old was sentenced to five years in jail after the court heard of his brazen attack on a “much older man” in March last year.

The father-of-one and a co-offender approached the victim who had just driven into his driveway and left his phone and the keys in the vehicle whilst closing his front yard gate.

Deegan walked up to the 62-year-old and demanded he drive the pair to another location.

When the victim refused, Deegan punched the man in the head, knocking him to the ground.

As the injured man lay unconscious and bleeding, Deegan stole the car and phone.

The victim woke up and managed to wave down a good Samaritan who contacted police. The older man was hospitalised, suffering concussion, lacerations, bruising and soft tissue injuries.

Deegan was on a six-year suspended licence when he took the vehicle, damaging it while driving it around Palmerston and the Darwin CBD.

He was caught by cops who found him to be highly intoxicated, the court heard.

“He (the victim) says he has never been bothered by others or suffered a feeling of being afraid until now and has a constant feeling of anxiety and fear that does not leave him,” Justice Kelly told Deegan.

The court heard Deegan had a lengthy criminal history across the Territory, Queensland and Western Australia with the offences including stealing, multiple driving charges, dishonesty, trespass, assault including multiple attacks on police and ongoing failure to comply with court orders including domestic violence order and bail breaches.

Justice Kelly said Deegan experienced family violence as a child, he had a serious problem with alcohol and spent significant time in jail.

Deegan’s apology to the victim was dismissed by the justice.

“I think it is a good idea if you apologise to the victim,” she said.

“But you said the same thing last time you were before this court, and yet you went on to commit this offence while you were on a suspended sentence.

“So I take what you say about shame and remorse with a grain of salt, and I do not actually accept that you are genuinely sorry.”

Deegan’s five-year sentence comes with a parole period of 2.5 years.

He was ordered to pay compensation of $1424 to the victim.

Originally published as Adam Dallas Deegan has faced the Northern Territory Supreme Court after assaulting the owner of a car before stealing it