Thug says sorry to firefighter
BASHED off-duty firefighter Gavin Holden finally got an apology yesterday from the thug who viciously attacked him as he tried to help the man's brother after he was hit by a car.
Christopher David Manger, 20, will spend a year behind bars for his unprovoked assault on the "good Samaritan", who was then kicked, punched, struck on the head with a bottle and dragged across a Redlynch street by about 10 young men who joined in the fight on the night of September 26 last year.
Mr Holden suffered cuts to his head and face, stitches to his mouth and grazes to his elbows and knees, with the ordeal causing him to question his values and willingness to help people in need, the Cairns District Court was told yesterday.
"This was an appalling display of aggression against a good Samaritan," Crown prosecutor Rachelle Logan said.
Judge Sarah Bradley sentenced Manger to three years’ jail with parole set for March next year to take into account the eight and a half months he has already spent in prison.
Ms Bradley said it was "beyond comprehension" that Manger would assault someone who had been trying to help his own brother.
As well as assault occasioning bodily harm in company, Manger pleaded guilty yesterday to a string of property offences.
These included the break-in and theft of six laptops from St Andrews College at Redlynch on September 21 last year, two counts of unlawful use of a vehicle and three burglaries, including one at a Redlynch home on January 14 this year where a woman woke to find Manger and another man going through her cupboards.
The court heard the pair ran away but returned later to retrieve four iPods and other items they had planted in a bush.
Most of the stolen property has not been found.
Defence barrister Jane Bentley said her client’s alcohol abuse was behind all his offending, and on the night of the attack he had also been distraught after seeing his brother jump in front of the car that hit him in a suicide attempt.
"He just lost control, he was acting stupidly… he unreservedly apologises for his actions that night," Ms Bentley said.
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Good Samaritan: Queensland Fire and Rescue Service member Gavin Holden has finally received an apology from the thug who assaulted him at Redlynch.
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