Man threw bar stool at Mandurah pub, knocking out girlfriend

THROWING a metal bar stool outside the Brighton Hotel cost a 23-year-old man $3000 when he appeared in Mandurah Magistrates Court this morning.

The stool struck the man’s girlfriend, knocking her unconscious for three to four minutes. The girlfriend had teeth displaced and was treated at Peel Health Campus.

Joel Steven Ovens pleaded guilty to acts or omissions causing bodily harm or danger to any person.

Police prosecutor Tamara Read said Ovens was at the Brighton Hotel with his girlfriend on December 23.

She said Ovens had been on a wine tour the previous day and had been drinking alcohol.

Sen Const Read said there was a confrontation and Ovens was removed from the premises.

Ovens’ girlfriend was trying to calm him down and he pushed her away.

Ovens threw a bar stool at security, but it struck his girlfriend who was standing in front.

Lawyer Michelle Cox said Ovens was not a drinker and may have overreacted due to his fight or flight responses.

She said Ovens had been held-up at gunpoint when he was younger and working in retail. At the Brighton, Ovens believed all these people were ganging up on him and things escalated.

Ms Cox said Ovens was shocked and dumbfounded by his behaviour.

Ovens’ girlfriend was in court to support him. Ms Cox supplied the court with references, including one from the victim’s father.

Magistrate Anne Longden said Ovens had no prior convictions and granted him a spent conviction.