Teira Bennett and Eldea Teuira have been sentenced to more than nine years in prison after pleading guilty to stabbing Tony Mokbel in Barwon Prison last year, leaving the drug kingpin in a critical condition.
Key points:
- Bennett and Teuira are already serving time in prison and their sentences have now been adjusted.
- County Court Judge Liz Gaynor described the attack, which was carried out after a birthday party, as "brazen"
- She said it was in direct response to a newspaper article which claimed Mokbel had become a "prison enforcer"
The pair, both now 22, stood over Mokbel and called him a "f***ing dog" after stabbing him with an improvised knife in the yard of Victoria’s maximum security prison.
Mokbel, who is serving a 30-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, suffered stab wounds, a fractured skull, a brain haemorrhage and extensive bleeding in the assault in February last year.
He also lost some teeth in the attack.
Both of his attackers are already serving prison time for other offences.
Bennett will now have to serve eight years before he is eligible for parole while Teuira will have to serve at least eight years and six months.
They were both 21 when they launched the frenzied attack on Mokbel after a birthday party.
Pair 'mauled and maimed' a 53-year-old man
In sentencing, County Court Judge Liz Gaynor said the "brazen" attack against Mokbel was committed in direct response to a Herald Sun story which claimed that the drug kingpin had become an "enforcer" within the prison.
The story, published on the front page of the newspaper the day before the attack, called Mokbel a "prison big wig" and claimed he had recently "intervened in a prison standover scheme, disrupting an extortion racket being run by Pacific Islander inmates".
Judge Gaynor dispelled any suggestion that the attack on Mokbel was merely "impulsive".
She said Bennett and Teuira carried out the assault to "assert the dominance of the G-fam group", referring to a name that prisoners of Pacific Islander descent use to describe themselves in prison.
"It seems to me highly likely the two of you were selected, or volunteered, to represent that group in the attack on Mokbel," she said.
Judge Gaynor described the attack as "horrendously violent" and said the pair had "mauled and maimed" a 53-year-old man.
"You have a think about what your life's going to be," she said.
"You may think you're both heroes in the jail [but do] you think in 20 years' time that's going to matter?"
Judge Gaynor told the pair that she had seen the "sad, repetitive story" of young men like them before in court.
"You have a think about what your life's gonna be," she said. "I'm saying that to you because you're both so young.
"It is tragic to see two young lives dramatically crashing."
Weapons fashioned from wire and a fork
The day of the attack, February 11, was Bennett's birthday, and other prisoners held a party for him on a grassy area outside his unit.
Security footage shows Mokbel approaching Bennett at the party and handing him a piece of paper.
Teuira then arrived at the party and spoke with Bennett.
An hour later, as Mokbel walked across the yard towards his unit, Teuira and Bennett walked along a path towards him.
As they intersected with Mokbel, Bennett punched him in the head, and the drug boss fell backwards, unconscious.
Teuira then pulled a "shiv" or improvised knife from the front of his shorts, crouched over Mokbel and stabbed several times in a "frenzied" motion.
While Teuira was stabbing Mokbel, Bennett kicked him repeatedly in the head.
Another prisoner, Steven Logan, tried to intervene and protect Mokbel, but was pushed away and stabbed in the side of the torso by Teuira.
While this was happening, Bennett ran around to Mokbel's side, lifted his torso up and stabbed him in the shoulder.
In the meantime, the attack had been noticed by guards, and one ran to the scene.
As he approached, the guard heard Bennett shout, "You're not an enforcer, this is what you get for talking to the screws you f***ing dog".
Another prison officer heard Bennett shout: "You think you are an enforcer, well you are f***ing not you c***."
After guards got Bennett on the ground, he yelled out "well done cuss, G-fam", and Teuira replied "yeah, happy birthday, bro".
The improvised weapons were made from sharpened wire and a fork.
Mokbel's injuries were life-threatening and if he had not received swift emergency treatment, he could have died.
Mokbel declined to provide victim impact statement
As the details of his offending were read out to court, Teuira laughed.
The pair, who appeared today via videolink, were supported in court by two friends who they waved at from prison.
Both men had pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury in circumstances of gross violence and recklessly causing serious injury, but declined to be interviewed by police.
Mokbel also refused to help police or provide a victim impact statement.
Both men are currently serving time for serious, violent offending: Bennett for armed robbery and aggravated home invasion, and Teuira for armed robbery and criminal damage.
Teuira told a psychologist that he thought Mokbel deserved the attack to a degree.
Attackers have sentences adjusted
Teuira and Bennett were sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison for the attack on Mokbel, and a further 12 months for the attack on the prisoner who tried to intervene.
Both are already serving time in prison and their sentences have now been adjusted.
Bennett will now have to serve a new sentence of more than 11 years in prison, with eight years before he is eligible for parole.
Teuira will have to serve 10 years and 10 months, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.
Mokbel, sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012, was the mastermind behind an elaborate drug syndicate known as The Company.
He was arrested in Greece in June 2007, 15 months after fleeing Melbourne while on bail during his trial on cocaine importation charges.
Full sentencing remarks from Judge Liz Gaynor:
Loading...
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiT2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA2LTAzL3RvbnktbW9rYmVsLWF0dGFja2Vycy1zZW50ZW5jZWQvMTIzMTM2MjLSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTIzMTM2MjI?oc=5
2020-06-03 02:17:20Z
52780828905482
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Tony Mokbel's attackers Teira Bennett and Eldea Teuira sentenced for Barwon Prison stabbing - ABC News"
Post a Comment