Prison for 'drunken bully'

A Richmond man with $32,000 in unpaid fines who assaulted two Chinese students and made racist comments to them has been jailed for 20 months.

A judge has called the attack "mean, nasty and vicious".

Jonathan Laurence Deans, 27, also known as Jonathan Brimble, appeared in the Nelson District Court for sentencing on a raft of charges yesterday.

Deans admitted charges, including three counts of assault, one of injuring with intent to injure, one of theft, two of breaching his community work and one of breaching bail.

Judge Richard Russell said Deans threw a bottle at his stepbrother's head when they were drinking alcohol with a group in a Picton park.

The blow knocked out his stepbrother and he required medical treatment at Wairau Hospital for a head cut.

The victim still suffers headaches.

Judge Russell said on March 18 Deans went to a Christchurch supermarket. He had been drinking and, as he went to pay for a 24-pack of beer, he pushed the box into the back of a female Chinese student standing at the checkout with her boyfriend. He swore at them, and followed them into the carpark, where he approached them and shouted at them.

The pair couldn't understand Deans but realised his "intentions were evil", the judge said.

Judge Russell said Deans headbutted the male student between the eyes and, when the female victim came to his aid, punched her in the arm, before punching the male in the face again, causing his nose to bleed. He left shouting and swearing racial remarks.

Judge Russell said Deans had a conviction list that ran to nine pages. He had not done 238 hours of his 300 hours of community work and owed $32,776 in fines and $3500 in reparation.

He said Deans' victims were psychologically affected by the assaults and still felt unsafe.

The judge said Deans' stepbrother felt threatened by the defendant and the Chinese students were upset by the assault.

The female was now afraid to go out in the evening, the judge said, and when she sees people with shaved heads she thinks about what happened and has no idea why she was assaulted.

The male student was also afraid to go to the supermarket at night and was angry at not feeling safe in the community.

"You are a drunken bully."

Judge Russell said Deans seemed to have no respect for others and their property.

On top of the jail sentence, he ordered him to pay $350 for emotional harm to each student and his stepbrother.

He ordered Deans to pay $200 for emotional harm to a fourth victim of a domestic assault in Richmond.

Deans still has to do his outstanding community work hours and pay his fines on his release from prison.

- © Fairfax NZ News