Broome man Brian Ocean Charles Ward fined $750 for arming self with shovel in anger after pub rejection

A Broome man awaiting sentencing in the District Court for grievous bodily harm has been fined for arming himself with a shovel after being kicked out of a local pub, breaching his strict bail conditions in the process. Brian Ocean Charles Ward appeared in Broome Magistrate’s Court on January 18 where he pleaded guilty to arming himself in a way that may cause fear to others. The court was told Ward was having drinks at Roebuck Bay Hotel when he got into an argument with employees and was asked to leave by security. Ward obliged but walked around the corner onto Napier Terrace towards the hotel’s bottle shop, where he picked up an abandoned shovel and walked back towards the Sports Bar, hitting a rubbish bin with it in the process. At this point, police patrolling the area sighted Ward with the shovel and took him into custody where he made admissions he was intending on hitting someone with the shovel. But in submissions made by his lawyer Richard Brandon-Baker, the court was told Ward did not intend on using the shovel as a weapon and simply hit the rubbish bin out of frustration. It was also submitted Ward required constant care due to a brain injury he received from a serious assault in 2006 and had been struggling with anger management at the time of offending. Magistrate Stephen Sharratt said it was “lucky” the police had intervened before anyone was injured and fined Ward $750. It is expected Ward will have to appear before the District Court as he had breached his bail conditions that included not entering licensed premises and consuming alcohol. The bail conditions were put in place in July last year after Ward pleaded guilty to knocking out a 58-year-old man with a blunt object and strangling him with a vine that he intended setting on fire before being witnessed by a local paramedic. It was further alleged Ward told police in an interview he would “finish the job” if he saw the victim again. He is due to appear for a sentence mention hearing next month and has been listed for sentencing in May.