The struggles of a former Home and Away star have been laid naked as he was jailed for assaulting three folks and trying to steal a automobile utilizing a wine bottle as a weapon.
Felix Dean appeared in Sydney Downing Centre Local Court by way of audiovisual hyperlink on Monday the place he pleaded responsible to assault with intention to rob, three counts of widespread assault, and breaching a earlier courtroom order.
The 26-year-old was carrying jail greens and an anxious expression he was sentenced to at the very least a 12 months behind bars for the drug-fuelled crime spree.
The courtroom heard he was utilizing medicine and “heavily intoxicated” when he approached a stranger for “unclear reasons” exterior a restaurant in Newtown, in Sydney’s internal west, on April 31.
Dean, who shot to fame portraying the younger character VJ Patterson on the hit present Home and Away, shouted “I’ll smash you” on the man as they walked previous one another on the road.
When the stranger circled, Dean pushed him backwards just a few metres earlier than making an attempt to strike him within the face.
Another man intervened and Dean shoved him forcefully within the chest earlier than throwing a punch, which the person ducked.
He and Dean “squared up to one another” and adopted boxing stances whereas they tried to hit one another, based on the agreed details.
A girl then tried to interject, however Dean shoved her within the again and he or she stumbled. The two males restrained the actor till police arrived.
Less than a month later, Dean tried to steal a person’s luxurious automobile whereas wielding a wine bottle as a weapon.
The agreed details reveal he approached the proprietor of an Audi A5 as he was sitting in his automobile in Botany, in Sydney’s south, on the night of May 23.
“Get the f*** out of the car c*** and give me your f***ing keys,” the previous baby star demanded.
When the sufferer instructed him to “f*** off”, the agreed details state Dean grabbed a full wine bottle out of his satchel and swung it in direction of the automobile proprietor, who leant again to keep away from being hit.
The man agreed at hand over the keys however then kicked the actor within the face and the chest, inflicting him to desert the carjacking try.
The violent incidents each occurred whereas Dean was serving a very good behaviour bond for a earlier matter of violence, the courtroom was instructed.
The paperwork reveal the 26-year-old had been convicted final 12 months for grabbing the arm of a schoolmate’s dad and demanding he pay his son’s $300 debt.
His lawyer Phoebe MacDougall instructed the courtroom on Monday Dean didn’t dispute the details of the offences.
“He largely doesn’t remember the events, given the drugs he was on at the time, being meth and alcohol,” she stated.
Ms MacDougall defined the kid actor had grow to be hooked on illicit medicine following a traumatic occasion at college which “significantly altered his personality during his formative years”.
In a press release supplied to NCA NewsWire, Dean defined he “resorted to drugs to cope with strong emotions” following the disturbing prevalence at college.
“Not only dealing with that, but I was also living on the streets, with the shame of knowing I was recognised because of my time as an actor on TV,” he stated.
Despite this, the actor stated he was in a position to “get a hold of (his) substance abuse issues” and end faculty as a result of he was “forming (his) own identity outside Home and Away”.
“Mr Dean, outside his addictions, is a very charismatic and smart young man,” Ms MacDougall instructed the courtroom.
She stated he was very inspired by the prospect of partaking in rehabilitation and had tried to enrol himself in a custodial program.
The courtroom heard the 26-year-old has been identified with substance abuse dysfunction, depressive dysfunction, and post-traumatic stress dysfunction.
Magistrate Robert Williams acknowledged the actor wanted “quite substantial treatment” for his addictions, psychological well being, and his administration of stress and anger.
However, he highlighted the earlier issues of violence on Dean’s felony report.
The Justice of the Peace accepted not one of the 4 victims had been injured within the assaults, however stated the “serious offences” would have nonetheless brought about the victims to worry for his or her security.
“The court needs to consider the safety of the community,” he stated.
He sentenced Dean to twenty months imprisonment with a non-parole interval of 1 12 months.
“I want to apologise to the many people I have hurt and to my mother who has stood by me,” Dean stated in a press release to NCA NewsWire.
The baby actor maintained his time on hit cleaning soap operas Home and Away had been a “positive experience” however admitted he continues to wrestle with the fallout of fame.
“Ten years on, when even the character has been replaced by multiple actors, I am trying my best to overcome the challenges I have outside of the show,” he stated.
“I wish nothing more than to be afforded the opportunity to do so without the scrutiny of the public and the media.”
It’s been a very long time within the limelight for Dean, who rose to prominence when he was solely 10 years outdated.
He obtained his huge break within the position of VJ, the on-screen son of longtime Home and Away forged member Ada Nicodemou.
Dean starred on the Channel 7 present between 2007 and 2010, and was nominated for Best Young Actor on the 2008 and 2009 Inside Soap Awards.
He shall be eligible for launch from jail in May 2024.
Source: www.news.com.au
