11 of the Northern Territory’s brawlers named and shamed: See the full list
FROM a former Young Australian of the year to taxi drivers and former soldiers losing control — this is a list of offenders who let their fists fly and ended up facing an NT court because of it
Police & Courts
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Mitchell Ford – Former NT Young Australian of the Year forced to give up his honour after getting involved in a pub brawl
The 19-year-old Ford was slapped with a 12-month good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded in Darwin Local Court earlier this year after pleading guilty to the assault that occurred in September last year.
He was awarded the NT Young Australian of the Year around a month after the incident for his work as a youth mental health advocate.
The NT News understands he advised the National Australia Day Council that he wanted to withdraw for “personal reasons” after being charged late last year.
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The court heard Ford was standing outside the Katherine Hotel with his two co-offenders – both of whom were on duty at the pub as a crowd control and a responsible service of alcohol marshal – around midnight on September 29 last year.
The 29-year-old victim approached the hotel with his friends but was refused entry due to his level of intoxication.
A heated fight ensued which eventually saw Ford and his co-offenders chase the victim through a nearby carpark.
The victim then tripped and fell to the ground before Ford kicked him in the torso.
Prosecutor Steve Ledek told the court the victim was “not in a position to reasonably defend himself when Ford kicked him in what was claimed to be an attempt to de-escalate the fight”. However, Ford’s lawyer Ray Murphy said his client’s actions were a “momentary lapse of judgment”.
Antonio De Oliveira Camara – Taxi driver punched another cabbie in a dispute over a parking spot
De Oliveira Camara, 51, pleaded guilty in the Darwin Local Court in January to aggravated assault following the altercation late last year.
The court heard Camara was waiting for a fare outside The Oaks Elan Hotel on Woods St shortly after 8am on November 4 when the other man approached him after dropping off his own passenger and told him to move his taxi.
Prosecutor Lajita Allan-Agnew said when Camara told the other man he was waiting for a fare and refused to move, the other driver insisted and called him a “f***ing idiot”.
Ms Allan-Agnew said Camara responded by punching him in the face, causing a cut to his eyebrow and then pushed him several times in the chest.
When police arrived, Ms Agnew said Camara admitted to punching the victim and that his conduct was wrong and expressed his regret.
In handing Camara a 12-month good behaviour bond, judge Alan Woodcock said taking into account his “exemplary character to this point” it would be “entirely appropriate” not to impose a conviction.
Ashton Davey, Jeffrey Ahwon and Jordan Scott – Trio attacked a group of US Marines in a Palmerston restaurant
The three brothers – Davey, 24, Ahwon, 23, and Scott, 30, appeared in Darwin Local Court in February on charges of disorderly behaviour in public and engaging in violent conduct.
The court heard the trio approached a group of four US marines as they walked into the Guzman y Gomez restaurant in the Bakewell Shopping Centre about 8.15pm on December 26.
The men made a number of racist comments towards the Marines before becoming physically aggressive towards them. Two of the Marines were subsequently assaulted.
The Marines tried to de-escalate the situation before a bystander, who the court heard happened to be a former corrections officer at Don Dale, stepped in and escorted the trio outside.
Davey pleaded guilty to both charges and was slapped with a two-month suspended jail sentence and a 12-month good behaviour bond.
Both Ahwon and Scott were sentenced to five months’ jail, suspended after three months.
Moran Sailor, Darren McGorm and Tyson Martine - Footballers avoid jail time for Mitchell St bashing
TWO Darwin football players, including one who worked at a local primary school, avoided jail time for a savage attack on another young man on a night out that left him unconscious and bleeding in the middle of the road.
The two 20-year-olds, Moran Sailor – who the court heard worked in after school hours care at St Pauls Catholic Primary school and plays for the Brothers Rugby League club – and Darren McGorm – who played for the St Mary’s NTFL club – appeared alongside their third co-offender,Tyson Martins, 18, in the Darwin Supreme Court in January.
It came after they each pleaded guilty to unlawfully causing serious harm in relation to the bashing that took place in March last year.
The court heard the three men were on a night out at in Darwin’s Mitchell Street when they became involved in a verbal altercation involving around 10 people outside Ducks Nuts Bar and Grill around 4.30am.
During the altercation, the three men – as well as another underage offender – started provoking then 20-year-old Keir Elder, who the court heard indicated to the offenders that he didn’t want to fight.
The youth then flykicked the victim in the back before McGorm punched him twice to the face and Martins forced him onto the ground in the middle of the road.
As he was trying to get up, Sailor kicked him in the torso before Martins kicked him in the face and head, knocking him unconscious and lying for some time in the middle of the road.
Mr Elder was taken to hospital with four broken teeth, a broken jaw that required extensive surgery and a perforated eardrum that has left him with permanent hearing damage.
McGorm was sentenced to an eight-month home detention order while Sailor was sentenced to 300 hours community service.
Martins was sentenced to one year and 11 months in prison, suspended after four months.
Clarke Ben Rowan – Former soldier jailed for bashing a ‘good Samaritan’ taxi driver
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in March to a string of offences including aggravated assault following the incident in October 2018.
Crown prosecutor Stephen Geary said Rowan had been removed from Monsoons nightclub and tried to get back in several times before leaving to catch a taxi in the early hours of October 1.
Mr Geary said Rowan waved down a taxi and asked to be driven to Palmerston. The driver was reluctant to take the long fare but agreed when Rowan told him he had a wife and children at home that he needed to get back to.
Rowan fell asleep on the way and when they arrived the driver got out and tried to wake Rowan but he became aggressive and proceeded to get out of the car and repeatedly punch and kick the driver.
The court heard the driver begged him to stop before Rowan did so and apologised. Rowan then asked the driver to take him to a second location, and when the driver arrived he assaulted him again, threatened to kill him and choked him in a headlock until the victim fell unconscious.
He was ordered in May to pay the taxi driver around $3500 in restitutions and will be eligible for parole after serving a year and a half in prison.
Simon Munkara and Anthony Tipiloura – Pair sentenced for attack on two men that left one with severe head injuries
Mumkara, 41, and Tipiloura, 35, were both jailed for their involvement in a fight that became brutal in a Darwin CBD park last year.
The court heard the pair were in Tamarind Park at around 9pm on August 9 last year when a verbal fight broke out between them and another pair of men.
CCTV footage of the event showed one of the victims began to physically fight Munkara and Tipiloura.
Meanwhile, the second victim tried to break the fight up and pull the first victim away.
Tipiloura was seen punching the first victim to the ground before sitting on him and continuing to punch him in the upper body.
Munkara then punched the second victim in the head, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the concrete and making “a loud noise heard by witnesses”.
The court heard Tipiloura then stole money and mobile phones from the pockets of both victims and Munkara was then heard yelling “they deserved it, they were asking for it” and “I’m Mike Tyson” as they left the scene.
Both victims were left unconscious, with the second treated in the Intensive Care Unit of Royal Darwin Hospital.
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Justice Peter Barr told the court the second victim suffered five separate fractures to his head and swelling of the brain, resulting in widespread brain damage.
Munkara was sentenced to three years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and six months,while Tipiloura was sentenced to eight months and 14 days jail.