A Home Rule man who attacked a neighbour's home in the early hours of the morning, was sentenced for 'Destroy or damage property' in Mudgee Local Court on Wednesday.
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Maxwell Woodhouse, aged 45, of Brittania Road, Home Rule, was placed on a two-year Conditional Release Order.
At about 1.30am on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, the victim was woken by Woodhouse knocking on the front door of his home and goading him to "come outside and have a go".
He then smashed a glass pane in the front door, before moving to the rear of the house and breaking a bedroom window.
As he was leaving the location a family member of the victim - who'd been contacted earlier - arrived. Woodhouse reversed into their vehicle, causing damage to the driver-side door and front panel.
When police questioned Woodhouse they noticed that he appeared to be intoxicated and was bleeding. He claimed that he punched his windscreen, but officers couldn't see any damage or blood on the vehicle.
In regards to what motivated the incident, Woodhouse said that the victim had been harassing him with a drone, which the victim denied and said he didn't own one.
His Legal Aid solicitor, Monica Wilson, told the court "it's conceded that this is a very serious case of 'Destroy or damage property' and would've been terrifying for the victim".
But said that her client has shown remorse, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, and has been paying for the damage he caused.
Magistrate David Day noted that there was a recent gap in the defendant's criminal history prior to this incident, which he accepts as "an aberration and alcohol was a factor".
"For 15 years you'd been doing well, then you went and did something silly," he said.
