A diagnosed schizophrenic who attacked a mother while on a drugs and alcohol-fueled bender could be freed within months.
Jahvid Gadd, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one of launching a missile when he appeared at Mildura Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Heartbreaking CCTV played in court showed Gadd frantically banging on the door of a family’s home in Mildura, on the Victoria-New South Wales border, on May 18.
The court heard that when the mother told him her children were asleep, Gadd violently punched her several times on the head before throwing her to the ground and kicking her.
Gadd was sentenced to four months behind bars and, with 18 days already served on remand, is likely to be released in October.
Jahvid Gadd (pictured) has been sentenced after brutally attacking a mother at her home in Mildura on May 18.
The court heard that Gadd returned to the house the day after the attack, where he was seen by a local man throwing stones at the woman. Mildura News reports.
The local reported the incident to police, sparking a nearly two-week search after Gadd fled to Adelaide, breaching a 2012 sex offender registration order.
He was eventually arrested at a Davoren Park home in Adelaide’s north on May 30 and extradited to Victoria.
While questioned by police, Gadd claimed he had no memory of the attack or the subsequent incident.
His lawyer told the court that at the time of the attack, he had “not slept for four days” and had been drinking heavily and taking drugs due to mental health issues.
The court also heard that Gadd apologized when shown the footage, but denied the stone attack had taken place.
An impassive Gadd stared stonily into the AV Link camera as the on-court footage played.
The court heard Gadd had not slept for four days while high on drugs and alcohol when he punched and kicked the mother (pictured).
Magistrate Patrick Southey was shocked by the video, especially by “the force of the first punch and with what force it knocked her to the ground”.
He added that everyone who saw the footage was “shocked, dismayed and disgusted” by Gadd’s actions.
Police prosecutor Matt Pardon said the “scariest” moment during the attack was the kick which fortunately grazed the mother’s head.
Magistrate Southey found Gadd unsuitable for a community corrections order and sentenced him to spend time behind bars.
He added that Gadd would have been jailed for seven months had he not pleaded guilty.
