Football player Junior Amone learns his punishment after being found guilty of a ‘appalling’ rooftop hammer attack on a tradie.
Junior Amone, a former St George Illawarra player, avoided prison after being found guilty of arming himself with a hammer and chasing a handyman off a roof following a heated altercation.
However, the 21-year-old walked out of Wollongong Local Court on Monday without his father, Talatau Amone, who was sentenced to two and a half years with a 12-month non-parole period.
Junior Amone and his father Talatau Amone were found guilty in October at Wollongong Local Court of a number of offenses, including assault, in connection with an incident outside their Warrawong house in November 2022.
Talatau Amone pled not guilty to damaging property, intimidating others, entering a structure or land with the intent to commit an indictable offense, and assault causing actual bodily harm.
The couple arrived in court on Monday morning, accompanied by family members and supporters.
When asked if they were prepared for the worst, lawyer Elias Tabchouri said the father and son were ‘prepared for anything’.
Magistrate Gabriel Fleming branded the father and son’s actions as ‘appalling’ as she jailed them individually for their part in the heated altercation.
Talatau Amone was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, including a 12-month nonparole period.
‘There is a continual incapacity to recognize the repercussions of his violent actions,’ Ms Fleming stated about his behaviour.
‘There is no insight, no regret, and no indication that the community would be safer if he served it in the community.’
Junior Amone was sentenced to a two-year Intensive Corrections Order, which is a form of community-based imprisonment.
Ms Fleming described the NRL player’s conduct as ‘appalling’.
‘You armed yourself with a hammer, the victims were helpless, the victim was on a roof, there was nowhere to go,’ she said.
Ms Fleming told the court that the conviction is a ‘tragedy’ for the 21-year-old’s playing career and finances, since he supports his family both in Australia and abroad.
‘I believe it is a tragedy that this could jeopardize your entire career in the job you enjoy,’ she stated.
‘This is your tragedy, not mine.’
Both males were fined $1,000 each for causing damage to an automobile and will be had to pay a total of $13,481 in compensation.
In October, tradesmen Jai King and Dean West were working on a house opposite the Amone home when they became embroiled in an argument with a group of men over a Nissan Navara parked on a nature strip. Talatau Amone elbowed the rear-vision mirror and reached into the vehicle to snap off the indicator. Junior Amone then jumped on the top of the vehicle, according to the court.
Ms Fleming discovered Junior Amone, who climbed onto the roof of the property and wielded a hammer. Mr King jumped to a neighboring roof, falling and hitting an airconditioning unit on the way down. He sustained serious injuries, including a broken hand. Mr King described his attacker as tall, muscular, and with a thin moustache. However, the magistrate did not identify Junio based on this description.
Ms Fleming took into account that earlier in the day, Junior Amone was caught on CCTV at Sydney Airport wearing clothing similar to the victim’s description, and his fingerprints were located on the vehicle.
The Dragons have suspended the NRL star from all club activities indefinitely, casting doubt on his playing future.
‘The Dragons acknowledge the guilty decision handed down to player Talatau Amone in Wollongong Court today in relation to an incident last November,’ the club stated in a statement after the verdict.
‘As a result of this decision, Amone has been removed from all club activities until further notice.’
