Meet a third striker

Sentencing Notes for Damian Wereta.

• Strike 1 – Feb 2013: aggravated robbery with a firearm and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to injure. 10.5 years.
• Strike 2 – Sep 2015: wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. 7.75 years.
• Strike 3 – Nov 2017: grievous bodily harm

The third strike consisted of:

you and four others attacked another prisoner without warning. A co-offender began the attack with punches to the victim’s head. Once the victim was on the ground, you punched and kicked him to the head and abdomen. You then repeatedly stabbed the victim with a shank to the head, neck and upper back. … You and they taunted the victim with Black Power slogans while he lay defenceless—and seriously injured. The victim was from an opposing gang, the Mongrel Mob. You then stabbed the victim twice more. You and your co-offenders taunted the Corrections officers. You said to them, “this is what happens when you put a mobster on my landing”. … The victim managed to stagger away. As he did so, you stabbed him twice more to the upper chest and neck. After what is described as a protracted negotiation with the guards, you dropped the shank. You and the other offenders then congratulated each other on what you had done. Some of your co-offenders tipped water and shampoo on the ground to make the difficult role of Corrections officers even more so.

The Judge also notes:

Gangs and violence are twins.

Useful reminder.

The final sentence:

I sentence you to preventive detention with a minimum period of eight years’ imprisonment.

I can’t see him getting released anytime soon.