PixabayA criminal named Cham Payne tried to convince a judge he doesn’t have an alcohol problem, despite being drunk while carrying out his latest offence.
Payne, who lives in Australia, had already amassed a 16-page criminal history – and he’s only 21.
Most recently, Payne, proving to be somewhat of a pain by name and nature, ran into a group of people at a park late at night on February 7th, reports The Border Mail.
GoogleOne man’s phone apparently ‘fell to the ground’ and Payne picked it up. When the victim asked for it back, Payne refused.
Police arrived and the group identified Payne as having pinched the phone, which by this point was nowhere to be found.
In the case, heard at Albury Local Court in New South Wales, the victim applied for $480 in compensation to replace the mobile phone and the court was told Payne had been on bail for other offences at the time of the theft.
Payne was subsequently sentenced to one year in prison for having a knife in a public place while awaiting sentence for the phone theft.
PAThe court heard Payne had been drinking before stealing the victim’s phone, but he doesn’t believe he needs help for his alcohol consumption.
Payne has mental health issues and the court heard he wasn’t on his medication at the time of the offence.
Despite the offence being relatively minor, magistrate Michael Crompton said his priors meant he should spend time behind bars.
He said:
The difficulty is his criminal history, which doesn’t assist him, and I think that take [sic] it over the threshold (of jail time).
PAPayne was jailed in 2015 for his part in a ‘wild drunken rampage’ between two families in the area. Aged 18 at the time, he had armed himself with a large knife after ‘smashing a man in the side of the head with a beer stubby’.
According to The Border Mail, the impact had ‘no effect’, so Payne took out another beer and cracked the man in the skull again. The glass broke this time and the impact knocked the victim unconscious. He was then arrested by officers at gunpoint while holding the knife.
Mr Crompton sentenced Payne to one month in jail for the phone theft during his appearance late last week.
At least his new room mates won’t struggle for a nickname.
