A George Town man who slashed an 18-year-old man's arm with a machete-like weapon was found guilty by a Supreme Court jury in Launceston.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Glenn William Barnard, 40, was found guilty by 10 or more jurors of the charge of committing an unlawful act intended to cause bodily harm to Bayley Lethborg about 1am on April 2, 2021.
The court heard that Barnard had a number of prior convictions for assault in Victoria and Tasmania. In 2019 he swung a tyre lever at a police officer and was jailed for four months for aggravated assault.
The slash to the 18-year-old Mr Lethborg caused a severed artery, severing of nerves and damage to tendons in the forearm.
Mr Lethborg and Barnard had a mutual dislike and had been involved in two previous incidents when they came face to face outside Barnard's unit in Friend Street, George Town.
Mr Lethborg had left his 18th birthday party, with about 25 drinks under his belt, to chase a man who had struck him from behind. He was accompanied by a number of friends.
The man Lachlan Gamble disappeared into a unit near Barnard's unit and Mr Lethborg's group began yelling out. Rather than sit tight in his unit Barnard looked out of his unit window and spotted Mr Lethborg.
On the way out he grabbed a 60 centimetre baton with a 12 centimetre blade strapped to it with electrical tape.
Despite Mr Lethborg telling him to get back in his unit and that the issue did not concern him Barnard advanced on him.
Lethborg backed away but tripped on a gutter and Barnard struck him to the forearm cutting him to the bone and causing massive bleeding. The strike was so dramatic that the baton split and the knife blade broke.
Barnard hit him a further three to four times to the body. all the while thinking that he deserved what he got.
"I just sort of lost control but I feel like he deserved it," Barnard told police.
Mr Lethborg was moved away by friends but had to lie down on a nature strip to receive medical treatment.
"It was like I had a big chunk of meat hanging off my arm," he said in evidence.
In a victim impact statement (VIS) Mr Lethborg said that he thought he was going to die.
"I had to wait two days for surgery and I was stuck in bed for four months," the VIS read to the court said.
He said he was too scared to walk around the streets.
Forensic evidence linked the knife blade found in Barnard's flat and his blue singlet to Mr Lethborg's blood.
Crown prosecutor Tamila Smith said Barnard had some time to think before he left his unit with the weapon.
Defence counsel Patrick O' Halloran said that it was arguable that the jury had found that Barnard was acting in self defence but used excessive force.
Barnard will have his sentence backdated to July 20, 2022 because was remanded in custody on the charge.
Justice Robert Pearce told Barnard he would sentence him to more jail on February 21 at 4.15pm.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
