A Launceston man who assaulted his partner in front of their children has been put behind bars.
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Michael James Beames was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to four counts of assault, unlawfully injuring property and trespassing.
The court heard Beames had only recently been released from prison when he assaulted his partner in June this year because he believed she had been cheating on him.
Threatening to “stab the guy in the head”, Beames grabbed his partner’s throat and tried to choke her before pushing her to the ground and punching her in the nose.
She fled the house and tried to hide at a friend’s place, but Beames followed her.
After trying to kick the door in, he climbed through a window and began abusing a woman in the house.
Demanding the woman tell him where his partner was, Beames pushed her into a book case.
He then started searching the house and ended up in the bedroom of a 16-year-old girl.
The girl’s mum, who Beames had just assaulted, tried to make him leave and he pushed her again, in front of the teenager.
Beames found his partner, who was hiding in the bathroom, and grabbed her by the arm trying to force her out of the house. He let go when he was told the police had arrived.
Handing down his sentence, Justice Michael Brett said the crimes were “extremely serious” and involved “brutal assaults” on two women, in front of children.
Justice Brett said Beames had a suspended sentence hanging over his head and a lengthy criminal history, which included ”serious” traffic offences, drug trafficking and assaulting and evading police.
He said the assaults were committed about two months after Beames was released on other matters.
Beames’ lawyer, James Kitto, had argued his client suffered a “serious addiction” to methylamphetamine and planned to change his ways upon his release from prison.
But Justice Brett said it was not only Beames’ drug addiction that led to his offending and he had made “conscious decisions” to “engage in unlawful conduct”.
Beames was convicted and a five-month suspended sentence was activated.
He was also slapped with an 18-month sentence for the assault on his partner and her friend.
Melissa Mobbs
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
A journalist with more than a decade of experience, Melissa Mobbs currently works as the Deputy Editor for The Examiner Newspaper in Launceston, and has a strong background in reporting on crime and the justice system. Send tips to Melissa.Mobbs@examiner.com.au or on Twitter via @melissamobbs.
