An innocuous meeting in a Balclutha street earned a man a vicious beating, a court has heard.
The victim had withdrawn money from the Clyde St ATM on October 25 and was returning to his vehicle when he passed 51-year-old Jeremy Phillip Clark.
The defendant asked him if he had had a good day then punched him in the face, the Dunedin District Court heard last week.
When the bloodied man tried to flee, Clark dragged him to the ground and continued to kick and punch him in the head and body.
In a statement before the court, the victim said he did not know the defendant and was stumped as to why he had been targeted.
He believed Clark said something about his daughter but the man did not know who she was either.
The victim said he was now nervous in public and scared he would see his attacker again.
"He worries that you would recognise him before he recognised you", Judge David Robinson told Clark.
Last year, the defendant was found drunk and bloodied in his car after a brief police chase near Long Beach.
He later admitted he had considered ramming a police car.
The court previously heard the man had a criminal history that ran for more than 23 pages, and his behaviour had sparked two armed offender squad callouts in 2015, which led to a manhunt when he was believed to be armed and dangerous.
The judge was also concerned an interview with Probation revealed "a little bit of deflection" and a reluctance by Clark to take full responsibility for October’s attack.
While on bail, Clark was also part of a trio who stole 96 cans of soft drink from a Balclutha cafe.
"At your age and stage, you know better", Judge Robinson said.
"It was stupid. It was really stupid", Clark conceded.
He was sentenced to seven months’ home detention and ordered to pay $31 reparation.
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
