Murray River councillor Tom Weyrich remains confident about his position on council despite being convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after repeatedly striking a man at a Moama car wash.
But according to a Murray River Council spokesperson, the future remains unclear.
“MRC is currently going through the process to acquire information from the court and will be conferring with the local government,” the spokesperson said.
“Based on that advice, council will act.”
Cr Weyrich, 66, of Mathoura, pleaded guilty in Moama Local Court on Thursday to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The court saw CCTV evidence taken at the car wash, which displayed Cr Weyrich’s wife driving a Ford Mustang around the victim’s white utility and pulling into an empty car wash bay on August 2.
The victim, Thomas Haley, then followed the couple into the same bay and pulled up behind the Mustang.
Magistrate Melissa Humphries told the court a discussion then ensued between Cr Weyrich and Mr Haley.
Mr Haley then accelerated his utility, causing the two vehicles to bump into each other, while Mrs Weyrich was still seated inside the Mustang.
Cr Weyrich then “aggressively approached the vehicle and struck the victim six or seven times,” Ms Humphries said.
“It was a relatively unprovoked attack where actual bodily harm has occurred.”
Cr Weyrich’s solicitor Matthew Lees said his client had post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
Mr Lees said while the mental health conditions “do not excuse” his client’s actions, it did provide some context as to why his client acted the way he did.
He explained that his client’s status as a local councillor often meant his actions were publicised and could result in negative repercussions in his life.
Mr Lees told the court that Cr Weyrich had never committed an offence like this before, was “a man who contributes to the community,” and had been categorised as low risk for re-offending.
The court heard a victim impact statement from Mr Haley, who said he had experienced knee pain, headaches and nightmares since the assault took place.
However, Ms Humphries said that while she acknowledged the impact of the assault on the victim, there was no evidence of these injuries attached to the case fact sheet.
In sentencing Cr Weyrich, Ms Humphries described “the attack” as being “unwarranted.”
She said she had taken into consideration that Cr Weyrich was “of good standing in the community,” did suffer from mental illness and had no criminal prior convictions in NSW.
“I also take into account a damage to his reputation and the media reporting of this incident,” she said.
“And that violence does appear to be completely out of character.”
Cr Weyrich was convicted and fined $1000 with a 12-month community corrections order to be served.
Following the court case, the Riverine Herald spoke with Cr Weyrich and Mr Haley.
Cr Weyrich said he was sorry for what he had done and was disappointed with the court’s decision to convict him.
He said he intended to appeal the conviction.
“The level of provocation was through the roof and I’m not justifying what I’ve done because I should never have done what I did,” Cr Weyrich said.
“I kept yelling at him to stop. My wife was very ill and had limited mobility. I felt I had to do something and I overreacted.”
Despite the conviction, Cr Weyrich said he would not be standing down as a councillor as he had checked the laws and he added that they did not require him to step down.
Speaking outside the court, Mr Haley said he was pleased with the court’s decision to convict.
He said he was “glad” to be given the opportunity to present a victim impact statement in open court and hoped that Cr Weyrich would be discharged as a councillor.