Jacob Robert McNevin sentenced for involvement in Sunland Plaza group attack

A man who donned a balaclava as he joined in on a brutal group assault was later found by police wearing nothing but a towel, after removing the clothes he had worn in the attack.

A MAN who donned a balaclava as he joined in on a brutal group assault was later found by police wearing nothing but a towel after removing the clothes he had worn in the attack.

In Townsville District Court on Friday, Jacob Robert McNevin, 24, walked into the dock flanked by multiple family members, before pleading guilty to a single count of grievous bodily harm.

The charge stemmed from his part in a group attack involving four other men on a man in a carpark at Sunland Plaza on March 22, 2021.

His co-offenders, Hartz, Mahoney, Forrester and Flynn were sentenced together on Monday to multiple jail terms.

The court heard that while both Forrester and Flynn had been armed with a baseball bat and a knife respectively – Mahoney, Hartz and McNevin had been unarmed.

McNevin inflicted punches to the man during the simultaneous attack, which left the victim with life-threatening injuries including lung lacerations and wounds to his back.

Jacob McNevin released from the Townsville watch house after facing court over a Kirwan stabbing. Picture: Alix Sweeney

Crown Prosecutor Monique Sheppard told the court that McNevin was the only one to have concealed his identity – with CCTV footage showing he wore a balaclava during the 45 second-long attack.

McNevin was later found in the car which had been driven by Forrester to Sunland Plaza.

The court heard that when police found McNevin, he was wearing nothing but a towel, having removed the clothes he had worn in the assault.

“He was clearly aware of the need to distance himself from the offending … (and) he was the only defendant when intercepted by police not wearing the same clothing at the time of the offence,” Ms Sheppard said.

The court heard while there had been no evidence such as DNA or fingerprints tying McNevin to the assault, he had been the only member of the group to confess their involvement to police.

Man assaulted and stabbed near Sandwich Express at Sunland Plaza. Picture: Evan Morgan

“It’s not a complete confession in terms of his knowledge of what they were going to do; for instance he does decline to nominate his co-defendants,” she said.

“And he suggested to police in his interview that they were just going there to ‘bash a paedophile’, and that it was ‘all in the moment’.”

She told the court that McNevin had a criminal history including a previous conviction of assault occasioning bodily harm for punching a woman at a party.

His defence barrister Travis Schmitt told Judge Gregory Lynham that McNevin was now six months sober, had been under the influence of “undesirable” people at the time.

He added that McNevin had received “indirect” threats because of his co-operation with police, and that he may have to be placed into protective custody.

“He has removed himself from that way of life completely and recognises his poor choice in terms of drug and alcohol led him down a path that has led to today’s proceedings,” Mr Schmitt said.

He submitted that McNevin’s efforts at rehabilitation from his drug and alcohol addiction including a three-month stint at a rehabilitation clinic, his employment, and remorse in the form of a letter of apology to the victim, should reduce his sentence.

He was sentenced to five years’ jail, with a parole release date set at March 29, 2024.

Originally published as Jacob Robert McNevin sentenced for involvement in Sunland Plaza group attack