A MAN who went on a "rampage of violence" ending in the death of a neighbour has been jailed for five years.
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Daniel John Duke, 36, formerly of Bonnor Street, Kelso, appeared before magistrate Brian Van Zuylen in the Bathurst Local Court last Thursday and was sentenced to the maximum term possible in the local court's jurisdiction.
Duke pleaded guilty to four charges; two counts of using an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, affray and common assault.
Another five charges, including one charge of manslaughter, were withdrawn and dismissed.
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The agreed statement of facts told how on February 25, 2019 Duke threatened people in Bonnor Street with a fishing bat, spat in the mouth of a victim and then became involved in an altercation with a man who later died at the scene.
In the first offence Duke approached a man with a fishing bat, swinging it at him and yelling threats. The man had to retreat and arm himself with a piece of wood before another man intervened seeking to calm the situation, but Duke's verbal threats continued.
In the second offence, Duke approached a woman with the same bat, swinging at her and threatening "to cave her head in" after she told him to "go home".
The third offence occurred when he then spat directly at her face, saying, "I hope you get AIDS".
The fourth offence (affray) occurred after the female victim spoke to her son about what had happened.
Her partner of 38 years, Jeffrey O'Connor, followed Duke to make sure "everything was okay" but an altercation erupted before being broken up by another witness who saw Mr O'Connor collapse with blood on his head and face.
The witness started CPR and called for the woman to call an ambulance.
A crowd of people who had arrived on scene became angry with Duke who had to retreat inside his house. They tried to force their way in and from inside his house Duke tried to stab one man through the door with a large knife taped to a broom handle.
Then, as people were trying to revive Mr O'Connor, Duke splashed petrol over them, yelling: "I'll [expletive] light youse up."
He then threw a bottle which smashed and splashed petrol, causing concern among paramedics of an explosion risk when using a defibrillator on Mr O'Connor.
Mr O'Connor was unable to be revived and died at the scene.
However, Mr Van Zuylen said the agreed statement of facts found that Duke's actions did not cause Mr O'Connor's death.
He said Mr O'Connor had an underlying heart condition and died of a heart attack, with the autopsy report stating his heart disease placed him at risk of sudden death, particularly in times of high stress.
But Director of Public Prosecutions solicitor Ms Kirkpatrick, in her submission, described the incident as a "prolonged rampage of violence".
Defence solicitor Peter Ringbauer conceded his client must serve time in prison but asked that it not be significantly longer than the time already served.
Mr Ringbauer said his client would like to apologise, adding there hadn't been a day when Duke hadn't reflected on what he had done.
Mr Van Zuylen said the court assessed Duke's criminality in the affray at the extreme high end of the range but, taking into account Duke's guilty pleas, gave a 25 per cent discount on each indicative sentence.
Mr Van Zuylen said an aggregate sentence of more than five years was appropriate but the local court's jurisdiction only allowed for a maximum accumulated sentence of five years.
He jailed Duke for five years with a non parole period of three years and nine months.
With time already served, Duke will be eligible for parole on November 22, 2022.
