A brief tussle between two men in Kings Meadows over an unsigned Centrelink form has landed one 40-year-old man with a conviction for trespassing and common assault.
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The events centre around Adam Simon Bodnar and his then-partner, Ms Butler, who had been in a previous relationship with the complainant, Anthony Davidson.
Following the breakdown of that relationship, Ms Butler required Mr Davidson to sign a Centrelink form to update her payment details.
On Thursday last week, the Launceston Magistrates Court heard that Mr Davidson was refusing to do this without discussing it with Ms Butler in person, which she was reluctant to do as she was seeking a family violence order against him.
This led Bodnar to go to Mr Davidson's Kings Meadows home on January 11.
According to police prosecutors, the complainant was sitting on his front porch smoking a cigarette when Bodnar arrived. Following a short conversation, Mr Bodnar then grabbed the complainant by "the scruff of his shirt" and in the resulting struggle, the two men fell to the floor.
A witness - Mr Davidson's roommate - heard the commotion and came outside to find Bodnar atop Mr Davidson.
The roommate then dragged the defendant off the complainant and helped restrain Bodnar in a headlock until Tasmania Police arrived.
Standing before the court last week, Bodnar pleaded guilty to one count of trespassing and one count of common assault. These add to prior assault convictions, which included grabbing a woman's vagina over her clothes and kicking a female police officer in the stomach.
In response to his prior convictions, defence counsel Olivia Jenkins stated that the previous assaults related to a drunken night following a work party and that Bodnar was regretful of his actions.
She also suggested that - due to his 50-hour work week - Bodnar would not be suitable for a community corrections order, which he had breached in a previous conviction. Magistrate Ken Stanton ordered Bodnar to pay a $1000 fine.
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Joshua Peach
Got a story tip? Email me on joshua.peach@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Got a story tip? Email me on joshua.peach@austcommunitymedia.com.au
