Nikola Sioeli Lomano was yesterday given a two-year suspended jail sentence over an unprovoked violent attack which a magistrate said could easily have killed his victim.
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The single punch thrown by Lomano caused a fractured eye socket and cheekbone along with nasal and jaw breaks on a Wodonga man, 20.
Magistrate Megan Greenwood said a NSW Probation and Parole Service report on Lomano, of Rutherglen, indicated he has issues with aggression and violence.
Ms Greenwood said the community was sick of such offences and the victim could easily have been knocked unconscious and fallen to the ground hitting his head.
She said her preferred sentencing option would have been an intensive corrections order so Lomano could get help for anger management.
But he was deemed ineligible for such a sentence by living in Victoria.
Lomano, 20, of Greens Lane, faced sentencing in Albury Local Court on charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He walked up to the victim in Dean Street about 3am on December 29 and inflicted a blow with a clenched fist.
The victim fell to the ground, suffering a large lump to his left cheek and a bleeding nose.
Another man who saw what happened grabbed Lomano to prevent any further attack.
But Lomano punched him as well, causing cuts to the top of his head, over his eye and on the bridge of the nose.
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Security officers at a nearby nightclub saw the incident and chased Lomano on foot for a kilometre before apprehending him and calling for police assistance.
A witness told police that neither victim had done anything to provoke the attacks.
Ms Greenwood imposed the two-year suspended sentence for the more serious assault and a concurrent eight-month suspended sentence for the other matter.
A condition stipulates Lomano must attend a doctor within a month for a referral to get anger management.
