By ANEEKA SIMONIS
A MAN who falsely imprisoned and injured a Noble Park man in his own home has been sentenced to a community corrections order.
Gino Rachele, 42, was sentenced on Thursday 3 September after pleading guilty to one charge of recklessly causing injury and falsely imprisoning a Noble Park man who was found dead by police at the scene of the incident.
At 2.45am on Wednesday 29 January 2014, Rachele and his partner Kristy Robb went to Mr Matthews’s home to pick up items kept in the man’s Noble Park bungalow.
The Supreme Court heard Ms Robb had sublet the bungalow at the rear of the premises earlier that month to Ms Robb and a number of items were being held as collateral for outstanding rental money that was allegedly owed to Mr Matthews.
The pair unlawfully entered the bungalow and began collecting items before Mr Matthews became aware of the intrusion and confronted them.
In court, Rachele said he heard yelling, screaming, movement and banging.
The prosecution argued during this time Ms Robb had assaulted Mr Matthews who sustained blunt force trauma injuries.
Rachele, who said he saw Mr Matthews holding something in his hand as he stood in the doorway, tackled the man to the ground from behind, pinning him down with his knee.
After hearing Mr Matthews elicit a “distinct cry of pain” Rachele removed his knee, letting the man get to his feet.
Rachele then pushed Mr Matthews into the lounge room, holding it closed so he could not get out.
He closed off other exit points being attempted by Mr Matthews in his bid to escape, holding him captive in his own home before fleeing with Ms Robb.
Mr Matthews contacted police at 2.53am, saying he had been “bashed by a woman and a bloke who come to get some stuff”.
Police attended the home a short time later to find Mr Matthews dead in the bathroom
The prosecution said Mr Matthews suffered multiple areas of blunt force trauma, including several lacerations to the scalp, bruising to the chest and limbs.
In sentencing Rachele, the court found he did not enter Mr Matthews’s home with the intention of causing injury to the man and was unaware that he had sustained serious injury during the incident.
The court suggested Rachele injured and imprisoned Mr Matthews to avoid further physical confrontation between he and Mr Robb.
Rachele, who had no prior convictions, was sentenced to a one-year community corrections order.
