Dragon Panic, 54, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to two counts of making a threat to kill, recklessly causing serious injury, threatening someone with an instrument and using cannabis.
Prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Chris Cole said Panic, who lived in Katunga at the time, swung a shovel at two men and yelled he was going to kill them on January 21, 2024.
The court heard he then hit one of the men on the side of the face, leaving a three-inch scar from his eye to his cheek.
Panic acted shocked when he saw the victim covered in blood, Leading Sen Constable Cole said.
The victim owned the caravan Panic lived in and despite Panic having paid a down payment, he’d sold it to someone else, the court heard.
Panic had denied the assault to police, claiming the incident was a “set-up” and one of the men had tried to attack him.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the man said the bones on the left side of his face had comminuted fractures, meaning they had broken in three or more pieces.
He’d also spent time in the maxillofacial unit at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, which specialises in the reconstruction of the face and jaw.
He’d lost feeling in 65 per cent of his face and he’d been having “bad traumatic dreams”, the court heard.
He said he’d lost hearing in his ear, and was gradually losing vision from his left eye since the attack.
The court heard his family were being extra vigilant and “don’t feel safe”.
Leading Sen Constable Cole also told the court Panic used cannabis in Tallygaroopna on December 25, 2023.
Panic’s defence solicitor John McNamara said his client was fearful after the two men came on to his property and were “verbally and physically aggressive with him”.
Mr McNamara said Panic was alcohol-affected at the time, but had been in rehabilitation since October 2024 and was going well.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski said Panic “acted extraordinarily violently” and his behaviour was “well beyond community standards”.
He said Panic showed “appalling violence” and no remorse or acceptance of facts.
Mr Zebrowski also noted Panic had prior convictions for assault.
Panic was sentenced to two months in prison, followed by a 12-month community corrections order.
Under the order, Panic must undergo drug and mental health treatment and take part in offender behaviour programs.
He was also fined $100 for using cannabis.
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