A Newcastle man armed with a rusty machete severed another man's thumb during a violent confrontation in Raymond Terrace, after being fed false information by a teenager about a supposed assault.
The Morning That Spun Into Violence
The incident unfolded on a Tuesday morning in April last year when Adam Garvey, then 42, was at his Raymond Terrace home. A teenager arrived claiming someone had stomped on his head during an assault, which immediately provoked Garvey.
Feeling intensely angry according to court documents, Garvey grabbed a 30-centimetre machete and demanded the teenager take him to the location of the alleged attack.
The Truth Behind The Confrontation
In reality, no such assault had occurred. The teenager had actually been drinking alcohol in the gutter outside a house at 7.40am when he launched an unprovoked attack on a resident who was taking out his bins.
The court heard the teen challenged the man to a fight, knocked over his bins, and repeatedly punched him in the face when he bent down to pick up the rubbish. The victim showed remarkable restraint, only briefly holding the teenager down to stop the attack before letting him go.
Anticipating trouble, the man immediately called police and asked a friend to come over as backup. His concerns were justified when the teenager returned with Garvey shortly afterward.
Machete Attack and Consequences
Garvey, armed with the machete, confronted the two men asking which one had stomped on the teenager's head. He then began chasing them around the front yard, swinging the blade.
The original victim raised his hands to protect his face as Garvey brought the machete down, slashing his forearm. When the teenager began punching the same man in the head, his friend attempted to intervene.
Garvey then swung the machete at the second man, with the blade chopping off the top of his thumb. The two men managed to wrestle Garvey to the ground and disarm him, though the second man suffered lacerations to his hand from grabbing the blade.
Even after being disarmed, the teenager continued the violence by smashing a car window, kicking a letterbox, and punching one of the men in the head.
Court Sentencing and Aftermath
In Newcastle District Court on Friday, Judge Tim Gartelmann said the teenager had assaulted the first victim without provocation and then lied to Garvey about someone stomping on his head.
While acknowledging the lies likely had a provocative effect on Garvey, Judge Gartelmann stressed this did not excuse his actions. The court heard Garvey had a history of violence and committed the machete attack while serving an intensive corrections order.
Garvey, now 43, initially denied involvement but changed his plea to guilty weeks before his trial. He expressed remorse and acknowledged his actions were stupid and impulsive.
Judge Gartelmann sentenced Garvey to a maximum of three-and-a-half years in prison with a non-parole period of two years and three months, making him eligible for parole in December 2026. The teenager was dealt with separately in the children's court and received probation.
Both victims required treatment from paramedics for multiple wounds to their hands, arms and heads, with one man suffering a deep thumb wound that exposed the bone.
