Jail sentence for man who launched ‘frenzied attack’ on roommate

A Dunedin man punched, kicked and stomped his victim before knocking him unconscious with a bottle of vodka, a court has heard.
Lyndon Daryl Ralston, 40, and the 56-year-old man had been roommates, Dunedin District Court heard last week.

The defendant was in the kitchen of the Morningside home on September 7 of last year, talking to the victim who was on a sofa a few feet away.

An argument broke out and Ralston launched a “frenzy,” beginning with 15 punches to the man’s head, Judge Kevin Phillips said.

Holding the roommate in a kneeling position, the defendant kicked him eight times before aiming a couple more blows to his head.

“The defendant raised his right foot above the victim and struck with his heel [him] on the upper back, near the spine, “the police summary read.

“He took a glass bottle of vodka and hit the victim on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.”

As the man lay motionless on the living room floor, Ralston attempted to flee the address with his girlfriend.

However, another occupant discovered what had happened and confronted him.

An altercation ensued between them, but it took several months for the police to catch up with Ralston.

As a result of the attack, the victim was cut and bruised, experienced pain in the neck, shoulder and arms and lost a tooth, the court heard.

The defendant pleaded guilty to injuring with intent to cause serious bodily harm and
the judge noted that he had a history of violence.

But his last indiscretion was seven years ago.

Attorney Ann Leonard said her client had been plagued by alcohol problems since he was a teenager.

He struggled to express his emotions, had suffered relationship failures and used substances as a crutch, he told the court.

Proof of this were the charges of aggravated driving and aggravated driving while disqualified, committed by Ralston in March of this year.

Judge Phillips called the attack on the roommate “extreme violence” and said the man was vulnerable due to his intoxication.

Ralston was jailed for two years and eight months and banned from driving for 18 months.