An alcohol related crime committed in 1988 has once again come under the spotlight as the person convicted for the murder has again escaped prison after gaining parole for the incident in 1988 and now escaping jail time for the recent fight. The man was involved in an assault while on parole for the first incident but this time received a suspended sentence.
The convicted murderer was sentenced to 21 years in prison after smashing in the head of another patron at a nightclub in 1988 and killing him. Once released on parole in 2010, the man was involved in yet another incident in a bar in Melbourne where he glassed a security guard. Surprisingly the man has managed to escape prison because security cameras showed that he was initially the victim and the glassing was just a case of mistaken identity. The man thought he was glassing his attackers when in fact he was glassing the security guards who were trying to help him.
TheShout.com.au reported on the incident, see below what the article had to say:
Jeffrey Alan Thomas served 21 years in prison for the 1988 murder of a fellow nightclub patron, who he killed by repeatedly dropping a large rock on his head at the climax of a scuffle that occurred upon leaving the venue.
Thomas was on parole in November 2010 when he became involved in a fight while drinking at the Cubby House Lounge Bar in Moonee Ponds in Melbourne’s north west. Security camera footage showed that Thomas was initially the victim in the incident. Following a verbal altercation, he was set upon by a group of up to eight men who punched and kicked him while he was on the ground.
When security intervened to protect him, Thomas, who has poor eyesight and had lost his glasses in the melee, attacked one of the security guards, first punching him in the head before repeatedly striking him in the head with a glass he had subsequently picked up off the bar.
As a result of the assault the security guard sustained several deep lacerations to his head. He received stitches and was discharged from hospital later that evening.
The County Court of Victoria sentenced Thomas on March 26 this year. Judge Marilyn Harbison had heard evidence that Thomas had made strong progress in his rehabilitation in his latter years in prison and upon re-entering the community.
The judge in this case expressed her concern over the recent increase in violent incidents especially glassings occurring on licenced premises.
According to the prosecutor, Thomas is a threat to the safety of the community however the judge pointed out that his previous offence of murder occurred under similar circumstances and that the man and the others involved had been drinking and so the incident was fuelled by alcohol. She then ruled that the three-year prison sentence she imposed on Thomas should be fully suspended.Thomas was warned that if he committed any crimes like this again he would definitely be sent back to prison.