Corey Raymond Rodgers plead guilty to the charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others and have custody of an offensive implement in a public place.

Magistrate Michael O’Brien convicted and sentenced Rodgers to 12 months in prison with a six month non-parole period for the offences.

According to the statement of facts presented to the court, in the late evening of Monday August 29, 2016 Rodgers and a co-accused were drinking at Rodgers’ address in Temora and became intoxicated.

At some stage during the evening both Rodgers and the co-accused were involved in an altercation out the front of the premises with a group of persons who were at a house two doors down and as a result both Rodgers and his co-accused armed themselves. Rodgers with a 60 cm timber bat and the co-accused with a baseball bat. 

Rodgers and the co-accused left Rodger’s residence still armed with their bats. They entered the property of the victim at about 3.30 am and walked into the open shed and through an open door where the victim was sleeping. The co-accused was carrying a gold coloured baseball bat and approached the victim who was sleeping in his bed.

Rodgers stood in the doorway to the room holding the timber bat. The co-accused used the baseball bat and struck the victim across the lower legs. The co-accused then handed the baseball bat to Rodgers who was still holding the wooden bat down by his side before the co-accused jumped onto the victim who was still in bed and the pair began wrestling. After a short struggle the victim fought the co-accused off him and he and Rodgers left the shed. At no time during the incident did Rodgers make any attempt to stop the assault. The victim armed himself with a golf club and chased them off the property. During the time the co-accused was yelling back at the victim. Witnesses and the victim’s parents were woken by the yelling.

Police attended Rodger’s residence and spoke with him and the co-accused. At this time only the co-accused was arrested. While in the premises police located the baseball and timber bat which were seized by police and entered as exhibits at Temora Police Station. It was at a later time that Rodgers role in the incident was discovered and he was charged with the matters.