Footy thugs to plead guilty in deal
Two sons of a prominent Melbourne barrister and their mate have negotiated a plea deal over a shockingly brutal attack near the MCG after an AFL final that was captured on video.
Law & Order
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Three footy thugs have negotiated a plea deal with the prosecution over the brutal bashing of two AFL fans near the MCG during footy finals, a court has heard.
Dominic and Sam Walker, sons of Tim Walker QC, along with mate, Benjamin Fitt, also want their case to remain in the Melbourne Magistrates Court where lesser penalties apply.
They were facing a maximum penalty of 15 years over the shocking attack that was captured on camera if the serious charges were heard in the County Court.
But a magistrate is restricted to only sentence a crook to two years jail for a single crime, or five years for multiple offences.
On the final day of their two-day preliminary hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court today to determine if their was sufficient weight for them to stand trial, Crown prosecutor Craig McConaghy told magistrate Duncan Reynolds they had resolved the matter.
Mr McConaghy said Dominic Walker, 28, his younger brother Sam, 25, and Mr Fitt, 28, have each agreed to plead guilty to two counts of intentionally causing injury to David Raeside, 61, and Len Tricarico, 45, in a brawl just after midnight on September 7, following the Richmond-Hawthorn qualifying final.
Seven other charges, including the most serious of conduct endangering life and causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence, would be dropped, he said.
The plea deal came a day after their victims told the court about how they feared for their lives after being set upon by the gang.
Mr Tricarico said he ran to Mr Raeside’s side after hearing him screaming and seeing somebody kicking him.
“I took a couple of steps in and pulled him away and told him to run for his life,” Mr Tricarico said. “I kept looking over my shoulder to see if they were following.”
But the horror was not over yet, he said, with the young men attacking them further when they returned to Wellington Parade, near the Pullman Hotel, to get a taxi.
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Neither Mr Tricarico or Mr Raeside could explain why they were targeted.
“Three young men started mouthing off at us for some reason,” Mr Raeside said.
“I can’t recall what they said. I probably gave them a bit back.”
Mr Tricarico detailed how he saw Mr Raeside on the ground with “blood all over his head”.
“I just yelled at them ‘get off him’,” Mr Tricarico said.
Another witness described the attack as “disturbing” after he saw a man, since identified as Mr Raeside, in the gutter repeatedly getting hit on the head.
Mr Duncan adjourned the case to October 14, where he will determine the defence lawyers’ application for summary jurisdiction.