A man who was hit with his own hammer during a botched home invasion of a drug house appears likely to avoid jail.
Kemp Lee McFarlane, 21, was left bleeding from the back of his head after having his balaclava pulled off and weapon taken from him on November 28 last year.
The County Court heard McFarlane and a 17-year-old hatched a plan while on medication to attend the Nordsvan Drive home for a "run through".
Both had bought marijuana from the property in the past.
The 21-year-old drove the younger man to the home and they put on balaclavas and grabbed a hammer and tyre lever before entering the house.
The teenager demanded drugs and money as he held up the tyre lever, but the victim recognised his voice.
The victim, 18, said he didn't have anything but the teenager demanded "anything of value".
The victim said he would try to find something but armed himself with an ornamental machete and screamed "get the f--- out of my house before you get sliced".
The younger man tried to hit the victim with his tyre lever, causing others in the home to rush in.
The 17-year-old was held in a bear hug to pin his arms and McFarlane had the hammer wrestled from him before being cracked in the head.
IN OTHER NEWS:
McFarlane's balaclava was ripped off and he fled to his vehicle.
The 17-year-old was pinned down outside the home and was detained until police arrived.
McFarlane took himself to Albury hospital and claimed he had fallen down 10 stairs and hit his head.
The cut was glued shut.
Police seized the weapons.
The 17-year-old told police he had been trying to get his girlfriend's cat back and named a person who had no involvement in the incident as his co-offender.
The other person had an alibi, and the teenager later said McFarlane was involved, leading to his arrest.
He admitted the injury he received was "well deserved".
"That is the stupidest decision of my life right there... I don't know what on earth I was thinking," he told officers.
The 21-year-old said he was "in too deep" and had been on a lot of Xanax at the time.
"(We) tiptoed to his room and then, yeah, it was just chaos after that," he said.
Judge Michael Cahill heard McFarlane had no criminal history and there were concerns about exposing him to criminals if he was jailed.
He will be assessed for a corrections order with possible community work, with the case to return on November 8.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News
