A FORMER Maffra man has been sentenced to six and three-quarter years' prison after pleading guilty to unprovoked attacks which left two Sale men hospitalised with serious injuries - one in intensive care.
Matthew James Wain, 40, pleaded guilty to various offences at Sale County Court on July 15, including two counts of aggravated burglary and two counts of recklessly causing serious injury.
However because Wain has has already served 202 days in pre-sentence detention and he has been given a non-parole period of four and a half years, he could be free in less than four years.
The court heard Wain had been drinking heavily with his then girlfriend and one of his victims, on September 15, 2008.
Some time later there was a disagreement between the two men and the victim returned to his unit in the York St flats in Sale.
In the early hours of the morning of September 16, 2008, Wain forced his way into the victim's flat looking for his girlfriend.
The victim was sleeping, there was no sign of the woman, yet the court heard Wain proceeded to punch the victim multiple times to the head and body, causing serious injury.
Wain continued on to another flat in the apartment block, again looking for his girlfriend.
He forced his way into a flat occupied by the second victim, someone he had met briefly months before, throwing him onto the floor and punching him a number of times before neighbours alerted police.
The attacks resulted in hospitalisation for both victims.
The first victim suffered two brain bleeds, multiple face fractures, a fractured eye socket which required surgery, two green-stick fractures to his right leg and severe bruising to his hips.
In a victim impact statement he also listed broken teeth, a broken eye socket that required a steel plate to keep his eye in place and damage to his nerves, lips and eyes.
He was transferred to the Alfred Hospital where he spent five days in intensive care before returning to Sale for further hospitalisation.
He still remains under treatment and says he is unable to work in his job as a truck driver.
The second victim received bruising and lacerations during the assault.
In his victim impact statement he said he remembered little of the assault, but suffered bruising and swelling and has had regular headaches and memory loss.
Both victims also reported emotional trauma as a result of the attacks.
The court heard that forensic psychologist Bernard Healy had found Wain had a superior intellectual capacity, his IQ being in the top six per cent, but was an alcoholic.
The court was also told of his prior convictions going back to 1991.
In sentencing, Judge Murphy took into account Mr Wain's guilty plea, remorse, his attempts to address his alcohol problem and the seriousness of the offences.
He sentenced him to three and a half year's imprisonment for recklessly causing injury to his first victim and three years for the aggravated burglary involving that man.
For recklessly causing injury to his second victim he received one year's imprisonment and three and a half years for the associated aggravated burglary.
Judge Murphy directed that 39 months of the prison sentences be served concurrently, resulting in a sentence of six and three-quarter years, with a non-parole period of four and a half years.
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