STATE OF TASMANIA v DALLAS MICHAEL WILLIAMS NEHLS 5 OCTOBER 2023
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE PEARCE J
Dallas Nehls, you plead guilty to assault. I also agreed to deal with your plea of guilty to the summary charges of trespass and failing to comply with the direction of a police officer. On 16 October 2021 you were at the home of Alitaha Taha in Invermay. You had been living there but, on that night, you argued. At about 3.40 pm he asked you to leave but you refused. He left himself and phoned the police. They returned with him about three hours later and you were still there. They asked you to go, gave you a formal direction to not return for 8 hours, and watched you walk away. However you were back within a few minutes and knocked on the door. When Mr Taha opened it you began to punch him repeatedly to his head. He suffered swelling and a cut to his right eye, a swollen jaw, lip, nose and cheek.
There is no victim impact statement from Mr Taha. There is no indication that the injuries he suffered had a lasting effect but no doubt the assault was distressing for him.
You were 43 at the time and are now 45. You have a considerable record for anti-social offending, common assaults, threatening conduct, dishonesty, driving and family violence offences. In March 2016 you were given a partly suspended six month sentence for common assault and family violence offences. In 2018 you were sentenced to three months for dishonesty and drug offences. Twice in 2019, and again in 2020 and 2021 you were sentenced to terms of imprisonment for a range of offences including destroying property, threatening and abusing the police, trespass, dishonesty, bail and drug offences. A further four month term was imposed in 2022. That was after this crime and is not a prior conviction for sentencing purposes but it is a further indication of the small chance of reform. Your record gives a good indication that over the last few years you have displayed little regard for the law, for authority and for other persons or property.
You have some mental health issues but I have nothing which indicates that they caused you to act in this way. Since 2013 the overwhelming issue in your life, which gives rise to most of your offending, is abuse of alcohol. It is submitted on your behalf that since your release in 2022 you have been attempting to address your alcoholism through the Alcohol and Drug Service, and that his has been made easier because for the first time in many years you have stable accommodation.
It is in your favour that you pleaded guilty. It is not an early plea. It is now two years since this assault but you were also charged with other offences which have not been proceeded with. You claim to have been upset because Mr Taha used money that you gave him to help with rent for another purpose. Even if that is true it does not excuse violence like this. This was a serious assault committed in the home of another person after you had been asked by him and by the police to leave, and when you deliberately returned to assault him in contravention of a police direction. I am informed that you have spent more than 100 days in custody which has not yet been taken into account in any other sentence. That is sufficient to cover what I consider to be an appropriate term for this crime.
You are convicted on each count. On count 4, failing to comply with a direction of a police officer, I make no other order. For the assault and the trespass I impose one sentence. You are sentenced to imprisonment for three months commencing 5 July 2023. I make no order as to parole.