“Fundamentally violent" man jailed for assault in nightclub

Friday 25 March 2022

A 34-year-old man was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to an assault in Fusion Nightclub in Town.

In the Magistrate's Court yesterday, after hearing the events which took place on 30 May last year, Judge Graeme McKerrell told Wayne James Diamond: "Fundamentally, you are a violent person".

The Court was told that video footage revealed that Diamond had deliberately pushed his victim down a flight of stairs inside the nightclub and laughed about it afterwards. 

Crown Advocate Chris Dunford told the Court that the victim's injuries were unknown because the victim did not provide a statement to the Police after the attack.

He added that Diamond had claimed in a Police interview that he may not be the suspect in the video footage because “many people look like him”. 

Pictured: Wayne Diamond was sent to Les Nicolles for six months.

In Diamond’s defence, Advocate Paul Lockwood said his client acted as he believed he was “at risk of being attacked”. 

Advocate Lockwood stated said his client had since come to question that initial assessment and now accepted that the victim could have been seriously harmed.

Judge Graeme McKerrell was unimpressed with Diamond, who he said was “no stranger to this Court”.

Diamond’s previous convictions were noted. In particular, community service orders, which had not prevented Diamond reoffending. 

Judge McKerrell gave credit for Diamond’s early guilty plea, but stated this was limited as the crime should have been obvious.

Concluding that a suspended sentence was “not appropriate”, Judge McKerrell sentenced Diamond to six months in prison.