Apollo Bay man James Gray assaulted man with beer bottle at local bar

A man stabbed another with a broken beer bottle at the Apollo Bay Hotel during a terrifying assault, a court has heard.

An Apollo Bay man “slashed and stabbed” another man during a violent outburst at his local pub.

James Gray stabbed his victim in the stomach with a broken beer bottle at the Apollo Bay Hotel in January, causing him to bleed.

Moments later the 34-year-old used the same bottle to hit him on the arm.

Gray pleaded guilty at the Geelong Magistrates Court on Monday to charges of recklessly causing injury and using profane language.

The court heard Gray, who has history of violent outbursts across the region, was at the hotel when he approached the victim in the beer garden and became verbally aggressive.

As the argument became heated, Gray “slashed and stabbed” the victim.

James Gray verbally abused staff at the Geelong hospital. Picture: Supplied.

When police tracked Gray down, he claimed he had been acting in self-defence,

He told police he had been “using what was used on me” when asked why he had attacked the victim with a broken beer bottle.

In April 2022, Gray was discharged from the Geelong hospital.

Gray became aggressive with the staff, including a Covid greeter, and accused them of stealing his medication.

When a security guard was alerted to the incident, he arrived as Gray told staff they have “no right to take away my f***ing meds (sic)”.

The court heard Gray has a history of violent behaviour across the Geelong area, including making threats to kill.

Magistrate Peter Mellas noted Gray has a “history of psychiatric issues” that have been put to the court on a number of occasions.

The matter was stood down for a mental health assessment and to obtain a victim impact statement for the Apollo Bay Hotel assault.

Gray will return at a later date for sentencing.

Originally published as Apollo Bay man James Gray assaulted man with beer bottle at local bar