Gregg Edward Haywood pleads guilty to assault in Bundaberg District Court

A ‘vulnerable’ retiree relaxing in his quiet caravan annex was punched out of his armchair and within minutes, had a revving chainsaw pointed at his face by two intruders.

Gregg Edward Haywood, pictured outside another court room regarding a previous case outside of Bundaberg.

A retiree believed he was going to die when a revving chainsaw was held to his face by one man while another encouraged him to cut their victim’s limbs off.

Details of the terrifying 10-minute rampage against a vulnerable older resident of the Baffle Creek Caravan Park were read out in the Bundaberg District Court.

The court heard the victim, aged 71 at the time, had been relaxing in his armchair in the annex of his caravan on September 9, 2020, when Gregg Edward Haywood and an accomplice entered the area and commenced a brutal attack.

Haywood, 56, pleaded guilty to burglary and serious assault, two of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed in company, one of serious assault and one of burglary with threatening violence.

He and his accomplice had caused what the prosecution described as a “ruckus” at the caravan park earlier in the afternoon before they arrived unannounced at their victim’s home, which was in a secluded, bushland section.

The court heard Haywood punched the victim, which knocked him from the chair, causing him to be pinned under it, before jumping on top of him and repeatedly hitting him in the head.

Gregg Edward Haywood (pictured) has fronted court on numerous occasions.

Crown Prosecutor Carla Ahern told the court Haywood grabbed a chainsaw, turned it on and held his victim’s feet down while his co-accused held down the chair on top of him.

“The defendant held the chainsaw close to various parts of the complainant’s body while the co-accused provided verbal encouragement and encouraged the defendant to cut the complainant’s arm off,” she said.

“The complainant felt like he was going to die at that point.”

Haywood then put the chainsaw down and started striking his victim’s face and threw an industrial battery at his arm, leading the victim to think his arm had been broken due to the immense pain it had caused.

“The complainant responded ‘you’ve broken my arm’, there was then a threat to break his other arm,” Ms Ahern told the court.

The victim was punched in the face before being told to leave, which he did, driving to the park manager’s residence only to be followed by the two men.

Later that night, Haywood and his co-accused returned to the caravan park and attended the home of another resident and made threats to her.

The court heard Hayward had completed a term of parole just days before his attack on the older man.

He had been a regular in court for violent, drug and driving offences since he was 19, including seven Supreme Court appearances, two of which involved producing cannabis while the remainder were to deal with breaches.

Haywood was also no stranger to District Court appearances for offences of violence and entering a dwelling which led to jail time, driving while intoxicated and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

In 2015, Haywood was given a head sentence of two and a half years for assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and deprivation of liberty.

Bundaberg Courthouse.

Another series of offences landed Haywood back in jail in 2019 for assault and obstructing police.

His traffic history was also tendered with Prosecutor Ahern, noting Haywood had also been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for disqualified driving in Bundaberg Magistrates Court in September 2019.

Barrister Andrew Hoare told the court Haywood benefited from the times he was on parole and had children who had succeeded in their lives including a son who was a biochemist in the US.

Mr Hoare said Haywood also had trade qualifications and was in the process of building a home.

In sentencing, Judge John Allen noted Haywood’s “extensive criminal history” including stints in jail, but said to his credit, he had reported as directed and engaged well when on parole in the absence of drugs and alcohol and had engaged in medical and psychiatric treatment.

“Which makes your behaviour on the 9th of September 2020 so more inexplicable,” Judge Allen said.

Judge Allen noted Haywood had been revving the chainsaw as his co-accused had encouraged him to sever their victim’s limbs.

“The chainsaw was held about three inches from his ankle and then about a foot away from his face while it was revved at full throttle,” he told the court.

“The complainant was terrified and thought he was going to die …”

The court heard the victim’s injuries had included significant facial bruising, swollen lips, bleeding from the nose and mouth, a loosened front tooth, a sore neck, bruising and abrasions to his left elbow and forearm, a cut to his lower back, tenderness to the left ribs and right knee, bruising and tenderness.

He has suffered insomnia and fear-related issues in the wake of the attack.

“It was serious offending, it was completely unexpected, completely unprovoked by the victim,” Judge Allen said.

“The motivation for it is entirely unclear, it appears to be senseless violence entirely unprovoked against an elderly and vulnerable victim.”

Haywood received a head sentence of four years and six months, suspended after 18 months with 384 days in custody counted as time served.

His parole release date was set for March 10, 2022.

The operational period where Haywood must not commit an offence punishable with imprisonment is five years.

Originally published as Gregg Edward Haywood pleads guilty to assault in Bundaberg District Court