Jockey William Nicolas White back behind bars after failed sentence appeal for attack on Albany taxi driver

Jockey William Nicolas White is back behind bars after an appeal against his prison sentence was thrown out by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Derrick. White was sentenced to eight months in prison in the Albany Magistrate’s Court on February 28 over a drunken daylight attack on a 67-year-old Albany taxi driver. He was released from prison less then a week later on March 3 after being granted bail pending his appeal in the Supreme Court. Last Friday, Justice Derrick dismissed all four grounds of appeal brought forward by White’s defence counsel. The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to assaulting the driver about 2.30pm on December 27, a day after herode Texan Blitz to victory at Albany’s Boxing Day races. White became aggressive and threatening towards the driver when he asked him to pay the full fare after dropping him off on Stirling Terrace. The jockey accused the driver of stealing from him before the attack, even after the driver put cash in his hand in an attempt to defuse the situation. His victim was left with “profuse” bleeding from two lacerations after White struck him three times in the head while strapped into the driver’s seat. Police arrested him shortly after the assault, but he was too intoxicated to be interviewed by officers. White’s lawyers Thomas Percy QC and Clayton Woodhouse claimed Albany Magistrate Raelene Johnston unjustly treated a previous assault conviction as an aggravating factor. They also claimed the magistrate said White had transferred a bottle to his left hand to use it as a weapon — and wrongly dealt with that as an aggravating factor. But Justice Derrick said both claims were without merit and were not supported by anything in Ms Johnston’s sentencing comments. Mr Percy and Mr Woodhouse unsuccessfully argued during the appeal White’s sentence was excessive and any term of imprison-ment should have been suspended. In his decision, Justice Derrick said Ms Johnston’s sentence was “well below” the maximum three-year term of imprisonment available to her. He described the incident as a “serious” and “unprovoked” attack on someone who was providing a service to the public. “The victim, once the appellant became aggressive, did his best to calm and placate the appellant, going so far as to give him money,” Justice Derrick said. “Nonetheless, despite the victim’s efforts, the appellant proceeded to attack the victim by hitting the victim three times with force with his fists to the head.”