A Sydney man who allegedly bashed a young Russian into a coma for refusing him a cigarette was on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol and later involved in a domestic violence incident, a court has heard.
Alexander Tsvetkov spent 20 days in Royal North Shore hospital in July 2013 after being bashed for refusing his attacker a cigarette on a night out in Sydney's St Leonards.
Albert William Bolamatu, 35, has pleaded guilty to the charge of reckless grievous bodily harm.
Downing Centre District Court on Friday heard the attack left Mr Tsvetkov with multiple brain haemorrhaging and severe head trauma.
While he has made a recovery since the attack, Mr Tsvetkov still suffers from recurring headaches and bouts of mild amnesia.
Giving evidence at the sentencing hearing, Bolamatu described how he had no recollection of the attack on the night because he was fuelled by a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.
He told the court he consumed several pills of the sleep aid Xanax, "too much" of the drug ice and a fair few drinks that night, because he was worried about his sick grandma.
He felt empathy for the victim who went into a coma because of his "regretful" actions, Bolamatu told the court.
Bolamatu's defence lawyer Bill Neild argued his client had long battled drug and alcohol abuse and suffered from mental health issues, including hearing "voices" caused by a history of domestic violence.
But crown prosecutor Burton Ko told the court Bolamatu had no prospects of rehabilitation and was likely to reoffend because of his long criminal history.
Bolamatu was on parole for a charge of goods in custody at the time of the attack, and after bashing Mr Tsvetkov, made his way home and was later charged with stalking and intimidating in a domestic incident.
Mr Ko said Bolamatu's judgment was not severely impaired due to excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol as was claimed because a witness saw him "acting normal" two hours before the attack.
"He had the ability to call a cab after the attack ... and the domestic violence offence happened after this offence," Mr Ko said.
Bolamatu will be sentenced on April 14.
Share
