Portland man, 23, jailed after pleading guilty to striking victims with hammer over drug debt

Wilson Reiri pleaded guilty to three charges in the Warrnambool County Court on Monday including aggravated burglary and two counts of reckless injury.

He was given a combined sentence of four-and-a-half years' jail, with a minimum term of three years before becoming eligible for parole.

Judge John Smallwood said if not for the man's guilty plea, he would have been imprisoned for six years.

The court was told Reiri attended an address on Portland's Edgar Street at 4pm on July 20, 2022 to speak to a friend who he believed owed him $20 related to the purchase of cannabis between 2013-14.

That friend was not present and the offender became involved in a short verbal dispute with the friend's mother, father and younger brother instead. Police were called and spoke to all parties before the accused left the address.

Then at 5.15 pm Reiri re-attended, this time carrying a hammer. He walked into the house through the unlocked door and into the kitchen area where the female victim was standing. The offender held the hammer above his head in his right hand, saying "you dogs".

The offender was approached by the woman and he used the hammer to hit the left side of her body near her ribs. The male victim entered the kitchen and attempted to assist his mother, but Reiri then hit him in the face with the hammer.

The mother and son wrestled the offender to the floor and shouted for help. After about two to three minutes of struggling, Reiri was pinned to the floor and the hammer was removed from him. The offender was then dragged out onto the verandah where the victims waited for police to arrive.

Reiri was arrested by Portland police. Members of Ambulance Victoria advised the female victim suffered bruising to her chest wall while the male victim had suffered a fracture to his right and left nasal bones and bruising to the face.

Reiri was conveyed to Portland police station and made admissions to the offending including attending the address on both occasions and bringing the hammer with him.

Judge Smallwood considered the offending "serious" but took into account Reiri's long history of schizophrenia, a drug-abuse disorder and an intellectual disability.

"He could've easily died, easily," he said.

"I gather it's hit him on the bridge of the nose - an inch and a half higher and he's dead. All he had to do was duck."