‘Selfish, cowardly’ man who beat up and robbed man for ‘gay advance’ jailed

CCTV footage of two men attacking the victim

A “cowardly” Australian man who knocked out another man, robbed him and left him unconscious on a road for making a “gay advance” has been jailed.

Along a laneway in Adelaide, the state of South Australia’s cosmopolitan coastal capital, Adam Thomas Warren smoked cannabis with a man on 26 December last year.

Harrowing surveillance footage showed the moment the 32-year-old assailant and the other man bumped into the victim in the city’s central business district, according to the Star Observer, an Australian queer news outlet.

The victim, Warren alleged, “talked like a f***ing poof” and tried to kiss Warren’s neck, The Advertiser, an Australian tabloid, reported.

“You thought [the victim] was making a homosexual advance towards you,” Adelaide District Court Judge Joana Fuller said.

“In response, you elbowed him, causing him to fall to the ground.”

‘Uncaring’ man left unconscious man to die after robbing him, judge says

Warren and the other man grabbed the victim’s mobile phone and elbowed him in the face, knocking him out cold.

The pair then left the victim on the motorway, where he laid there unconscious until a passerby found him – he, fortunately, did not sustain any life-threatening or serious injuries.

“Your actions were cowardly and selfish and uncaring,” the judge added of the “spontaneous” robbing.

“For all you knew [the victim] could have died after you left him there. Whilst he was on the ground, apparently unconscious, your co-accused went through his pockets and took his wallet.”

The two attackers hailed a taxi to a McDonalds and used the victim’s bank card to buy fast food. “The footage from McDonald’s shows the two of you behaving in a way that appears to be some sort of celebration,” the judge said.

The two were later arrested by police at the restaurant. Warren pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated robbery.

Fuller handed down an immediate prison sentence of three years and six months. He must serve, at the very least, two years and 15 days of the sentence as a serious offender.

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