A Canberra man has avoided a lengthy jail term after punching a woman in the face while trying to steal her son's car, accusing him of being a "snitch".
The 18-year-old will spend a further week in jail but the rest of his nine-month sentence has been suspended, in part because he is expected to undergo heart surgery.
He previously pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to two assaults.
Last year he was acquitted of murder after his involvement in the 2020 brawl at the Weston Skate Park.
One man died in the organised fight and another was injured.
The man, who was aged 15 at the time, denied killing the person who died, but admitted stabbing a second victim after finding a knife on the ground and going to the aid of his friend.
Victim says she suffered hearing loss after attack
Today the court heard that after his trial, the man assaulted another man he knew at a gym.
"He was being aggressive to me, so I hit him," he said during his sentencing hearing.
He said at the time he had been using illicit drugs and was often living in a refuge.
He said he had supportive friends but they were also using drugs.
"I was living a bad lifestyle," he told the court.
Less than a month later, the man went to the home of a former friend who was involved in the skate park incident.
"I broke into a snitch's house and punched his mother in the face," the court heard he told his psychologist.
His lawyer asked him why he went to the house.
"I was upset about my situation. I was getting frustrated. If I'm going to rob anyone, it should be someone I know," he replied.
He told the court he went to the house to take his former friend's things.
"I had a plan. I was going to take his car," he explained.
The court heard he went into his friend's bedroom to look for car keys, but his mother caught him, and he punched her in the side of the face.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said the punch caused hearing loss in one ear for 10 days, and she is now terrified of being at home alone.
'Difficult not to feel manipulated': chief justice
The 18-year-old has already served nearly eight months of his sentence, after he was arrested for the assault in September last year.
But he will be released early to undergo open heart surgery interstate.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told the ACT Supreme Court it was "difficult not to feel manipulated" before delivering the sentence.
"The time of the [doctors'] appointments put forward tie the court's hand," she said.
The man will be on a good behaviour order until the end of the year.
