Benjamin James Long: Albany man sentenced to extra nine months in jail for nightclub slashing

An Albany man has been served extra prison time for slashing someone’s face during a nightclub brawl, a sentence which will be added to his current imprisonment relating to a series of “brazen’ crimes including torching cars and deliberately driving over a man. Benjamin James Long has been served an extra nine months on top of a recent District Court sentencing for slashing a man’s face in the bathrooms of Albany nightclub Studio 146 in 2022. Long, 22, was sentenced in Albany Magistrates Court on Monday on one count of unlawful wounding, for which he was found guilty on April 28, 2023. During a brawl in the club’s bathrooms on February 6, 2022, Long sliced his victim Zayne Francis from ear to chin, leaving him with a 10cm laceration. A security guard gave evidence in Long’s two-day trial saying he saw Long deal five to six hammer-fisted blows to the head of Mr Francis who was crouched on the floor. Fearing for his life, the victim held Long in a headlock before pushing him into a bathroom stall. Long, wielding a Stanley knife, said to Francis, “Do you want to die? I’ll f...ing kill you” before lunging at him and slicing his face. In a victim impact statement, Mr Francis said he was told by a doctor that if the cut were a centimetre closer to his jugular, he could have died. He now suffers from a scarred lump on the back of his head and a scar on his cheek that catches when he shaves, according to the statement. Haunted by nightmares of Long attacking him, Mr Francis said he struggles to sleep. Long’s defence lawyer Sonia Anderson said Long regretted the situation escalated and that he brought the knife with him because he knew the nightclub was unsafe. Police prosecutor Sgt Peter Yuswak said Mr Francis’ injury required nine staples in total and the attack was at the “upper end of the level of seriousness”. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan said Long showed no consideration toward the welfare of Mr Francis by making a “sweeping motion” with the knife towards him and that the situation was an “obvious recipe for disaster” and had a “fairly profound effect on Mr Francis”. Taking into account his youth and the principle of totality, the magistrate said Long had a good prospect of rehabilitation and sentenced him to nine months jail with eligibility for parole. His time will be added to the six years and two months imprisonment he was sentenced to by District Court Judge Mark Herron for a series of “extremely dangerous” offenses Long committed between June 2021 to July 2022. These began on June 18, 2021, when Long set alight a Ford Courier belonging to a man dating Long’s ex-girlfriend, writing off the car, and losing the owner $2000 worth of work tools. This offense was followed by Long setting alight four other cars, one of which was destroyed by Long throwing a Molotov cocktail at the vehicle, causing flames to also damage the home where the car was parked. Two months later, Long terrorised a birthday party by driving his car through the property and deliberately running over an attendee, leaving the victim incapacitated. During the sentencing, Judge Herron described Long’s actions as “terrifying” for witnesses and fortunate that he didn’t kill anyone.