By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A disgruntled ex-employee twice broke into his former workplace in Springvale, stealing the boss’s ute and severely beating a worker with a cricket bat, a court has heard.
Joshua Irving, 21, pleaded guilty at the County Court to intentionally causing serious injury, aggravated burglary, dangerous driving and theft.
After being sacked at the Brad Cattlin and Sons earthmoving business, Irving posted negative comments about the firm on Facebook.
In April 2022, Irving broke in, stole keys from the owner’s desk and took the Isuzu DMax ute.
Irving filmed himself on Snapchat driving at more than 150 km/h.
That same night, he and an associate drove to the Melbourne Water Treatment Plant in Yea. They forced entry to the gates and rammed the door to the switchroom.
Upon entering the room, they triggered an audible alarm. They fled, discarding the ute in Glenburn.
Days later at 3.05am, a balaclava-clad Irving returned to his former workplace with a metal bar to force entry.
A worker sleeping in the factory was awoken by loud noises. He carried a cricket bat as he went to investigate.
In the ensuing scuffle, Irving produced a knife and suffered a wound to the back of his head.
He picked up the bat and struck the worker three times to the face. The blows knocked the victim to the ground in significant pain.
Irving stole the man’s phone and removed the business’s CCTV hard drive.
Covered in blood, the victim was taken to The Alfred hospital with multiple skull fractures, two fractured eye sockets, broken nose, a gaping wound to his forehead and swelling around his brain.
During complex surgery, he had metal plates and screws inserted in his head.
Meanwhile, Irving wrote “disgusting” and “very disturbing” messages to friends about the bashing, Judge Geoff Chettle said.
His “racist and homophobic” comments about the victim, his “bravado and boasting” showed a “complete lack of remorse”.
In a victim impact statement, the worker described being filled with fear that Irving or “someone like him” would come to his home and hurt him.
He suffered flashbacks and constant headaches, and potentially required further eye surgery.
He reflected how close his daughter was to losing her father that morning.
The victim didn’t know how he would pay his bills after Brad Cattlin and Sons went into receivership and he lost his job.
He didn’t receive WorkCover payments because the attack happened outside work hours.
In a police interview Irving admitted to the offences, claiming the business owed him money.
Growing up in Mulgrave and Kinglake, Irving was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. At 18, he took himself off medication and soon developed a three-gram-a-week ice habit.
“Your use of ice does much to explain why a young man with no criminal history and a loving family could have embarked on such a course of serious criminal activity,” Judge Chettle said.
Irving was immature, more in keeping with a teenager than an adult, the judge noted.
He was “uninformed” and “naïve” in his world view, prone to “self-defeating, risky and poorly conceived” decisions, “impulsive” and “highly influenced by others”.
These traits could be remedied with treatment, a psychologist stated.
Judge Chettle had adjourned for four months to allow Irving to attend residential drug rehab at Woodend.
Being young with no prior convictions, Irving’s rehabilitation prospects were “good”, Judge Chettle said.
He “unfortunately” faced a mandatory jail term for intentionally causing serious injury – even if it was “an injustice to you or a disservice to the community”.
On the other hand, Irving “viciously” beat his victim, who was left “severely injured” and “long damaged”.
Judge Chettle said he was concerned that Irving was too “immature”, “impressionable” and “naïve” for adult prison.
He hoped authorities would house Irving in Port Phillip Prison’s youth unit.
Irving was jailed for up to four-and-a-half years, with a two-and-a-half year non-parole period.
He was disqualified from driving for three years.
