Wodonga man had been called in over rent not paid, then had a meltdown

Bradley Palmer grabbed the firm's rental manager by the elbows, unleashed a stream of abuse and then twice tapped her under the chin.

The 45-year-old, who now lives in Wodonga, had been called into the real estate agency's North Albury office to explain why he and his wife were in arrears on their rent.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Palmer, representing himself before magistrate Sally McLaughlin in Albury Local Court, pleaded guilty this week to a single charge of common assault.

He told Ms McLaughlin he had acted in the way he did as he was upset over the break-up of his marriage, though he said he had since got back together with his wife.

Palmer said another reason for his behavior was stress created from finding out he was going to be asked to move out of the property as the result of the house being sold. "I'm living with my wife again," he said.

MORE COURT STORIES

Ms McLaughlin told Palmer she accepted, given his clean criminal history, that the assault was "completely out-of-character for you".

Nevertheless, she also told Palmer what he did was "a serious matter".

Police told the court how Palmer and his wife had been renting a home on Union Road, Lavington, since November, 2019.

Palmer attended the agency's office in North Albury on October 26 about 4.15pm after he was contacted about being behind in the rent.

The victim met him at the office's front door, where they had a brief conversation.

She then went back inside to retrieve the rental ledger for Palmer's property.

As she walked to her desk she asked Palmer if she could check if he was double-vaccinated for COVID-19.

"The accused became argumentative and belligerent towards the victim," police said.

"The accused has then grabbed the victim by her elbows and continued verbally abusing her and calling the victim a b--ch."

Palmer, of Riga Court, was convicted and fined $700.

To read more stories, download The Border Mail news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.

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: