Albany men Andy Rohan Bennell and Tristan Ray Loo receive jail time for ‘vicious’ golf club attack

Two men have been jailed for a “premeditated, vicious, prolonged and cowardly” attack after they waited for a man to leave an Albany nightclub, then set upon him with golf clubs. Andy Rohan Bennell, 23, and Tristan Ray Loo, 21, were sentenced in Albany District Court on May 9 after each pleaded guilty to one charge of doing an act causing bodily harm with intent to harm. State Prosecutor Amy Bradley told the court about 3am on April 4 last year Bennell, Loo and their alleged accomplice Bevan Charles Williams — who is set to face trial in July after pleading not guilty to the same charge — were out the front of Studio 146 on Stirling Terrace. They had earlier been evicted from the nightclub because of an altercation with the victim and two other men, after the victim refused to give them cigarettes. They left Stirling Terrace and returned with various weapons including a hammer and golf clubs then waited outside the nightclub for about 90 minutes. When the victim and two men left the nightclub they were “immediately set upon and attacked”, Ms Bradley said. After escaping, the victim was chased and attacked again, with Mr Williams allegedly trying to hit the victim in the head with a hammer, but hitting his hand instead. Bennell and Loo then “struck the victim repeatedly with metal golf clubs” while he was balled up on the floor. The attack lasted about seven minutes and was captured on CCTV and bystanders’ phones. It prompted several other people to “fight tumultuously” with objects thrown for several minutes, Ms Bradley said. The victim attended Albany Health Campus with a broken hand and significant bruising, received eight stitches to two wounds. Ms Bradley said the victim described it “as if he was fighting for his life”. “Time and time again, this court, sadly, continues to see all too often offences of drunken violence on the streets,” she said. “A message needs to be sent to the community that violent and unprovoked attacks inflicted by drunken young men will not be tolerated.” Defence lawyer Giovanni Rando said Bennell first appeared before the court at age 12 before he started using cannabis at 16 and methamphetamine at 18. He was using drugs on the night of the assault. Mr Rando said he could “sum up his life up until now as being totally dysfunctional and out of control”. But Mr Rando said Bennell was committed to changing his ways to avoid spending time in jail. “He has been virtually an alcohol and drug user from his early teens, and I think he’s had enough,” he said. Loo’s defence lawyer Elizabeth Hamilton said alcohol was “fuelling all of this chaotic behaviour”. She acknowledged Loo had been on a community-based order that had expired the day before the offence. She said that since the Stirling Terrace incident, her client “has not consumed alcohol in any shape or form, and intends to continue on with that”. Judge Mark Herron said the attack was “premeditated, vicious, prolonged and cowardly” causing “extensive injuries” to the victim. “Members of the community are entitled to expect that they are able to socialise at entertainment venues in Albany and walk the streets without the fear of being attacked,” Judge Herron said. Bennell was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison, backdated to July 29, 2021. Loo was sentenced to 16 months immediate imprisonment.