A Keysborough chef has been jailed for joining a “terrifying” home invasion in which a resident was bashed to the head with a hammer.
Loui Tzatzakis, now 27, had arranged to drop off some owed cash to one of the occupants of the house in Narre Warren South, the Victorian County Court heard.
Instead he arrived at the front door, wielding a baseball bat with two unknown males just after midnight on 14 July 2018.
One of Tzatzakis’s accomplices, armed with a knife, chased a 25-year-old resident down the street.
In the living room, Tzatzakis and the other accomplice repeatedly punched a visitor to the ribs, head and hands. The victim suffered two broken fingers that caused him to miss nine weeks work.
The two intruders then barged into the bathroom where another defenceless 25-year-old resident had been showering.
Tzatzakis’s co-offender struck the man to the head with a hammer while he lay on the bathroom floor.
Tzatzakis demanded cash and money. He told the victim that this was for telling Tzatzakis’s family about the debt, and stomped on his back.
The resident suffered a fractured skull, lacerations to his face and concussion. His skull was reconstructed with titanium mesh, and missed three months work due to seizures that prevented him driving.
In sentencing on 30 January, County Court judge Kevin Doyle said it was only “good luck” that the hammer victim’s injuries didn’t have long-term impact. They could have been potentially more catastrophic or deadly, Judge Doyle said.
The victims’ injuries “speak for themselves” of the “terrifying” experience, Judge Doyle said.
During the “extremely serious” offending, Tzatzakis was angry that his family had been told of the debt. He was also motivated by a desire for drugs and cash, Judge Doyle said.
He inferred that Tzatzakis had intended to inflict serious harm due to the immediacy and seriousness of the assaults.
Judge Doyle noted Tzatzakis’s hard-working, decent family continued to support him.
At the time of offending, he’d been kicked out of the Keysborough family home due to his drug abuse – including daily meth use.
In custody, his attitude was said to be “transformed”. He’d expressed remorse for his conduct, and insight into his drug use and lifestyle, Judge Doyle noted.
“Absence from drugs will be the key to your rehabilitation.”
Tzatzakis pleaded guilty to aggravated home invasion, recklessly causing serious injury, recklessly causing injury and possession of cannabis.
He was jailed for up to seven years, with a four-year non-parole period. He had served 557 days in pre-sentence custody.
