A former Panthers junior has been jailed for 14 months after glassing an innocent woman in the face during a brawl, in which he and two friends “stomped on” a man and gave him multiple brain injuries.
Maurice Trindall, 25, who was a former NSW Blues under-18s representative, was jailed last week in the Parramatta District Court after pleading guilty to reckless grievous bodily harm and reckless wounding.
He was given a head sentence of two years and four months with a non-parole period of 14 months. He is set to be released on parole on December 1, 2025, due to his time already spent in custody.
Court documents obtained by news.com.au outlined how Trindall, Alexen Lyzwa and Frederick Solo got into a brawl after leaving Bidwill Hotel in Sydney’s west on April 25, 2024.
Lyzwa made a comment to a man, Marcus Barker, outside the hotel, who was wearing an indigenous NRL jersey, when the pair began to argue about “the area”.
Witnesses told police they were arguing about the NSW rural town of Coonamble, with Barker telling Lyzwa: “Don’t f**king say I’m from here.”
Mr Barker, who was at the pub with his cousin Christopher Barker, and the trio were told by security to move on from the club.
The five men then engaged in an all-out brawl down the road on Carlisle Ave.
Court documents state the fight kicked off when Trindall punched Marcus, before Christopher stepped in to defend his cousin.
Witnesses told police Christopher fell to the kerb before being “kicked as he laid in the gutter” with the kick landing to “both his body and head”.
The documents state that “his head was stomped on at one stage”.
One witness approached Christopher and held his head.
“He was bleeding, his face was swollen, and he was making weird noises,” the documents state.
“She saw blood pouring from the victim’s ear, and she turned his head to drain the blood, took off her red jacket and used her jacket to brace his head.”
Trindall, Lyzwa, Solo and Marcus Barker were all charged over the confrontation.
Trindall glasses bystander
Another bystander – Donna Stanley – also stepped in and pushed Lyzwa away from Christopher.
In an attempt to stop the fighting, Ms Stanley threw a glass bottle at Trindall. Trindall dodged the bottle, and it landed in front of him.
He picked it up and threw it at Ms Stanley’s face, hitting her “right eye area”, the documents state.
Police arrived and took photos of Ms Stanley’s bloodied face, before she was taken to Mt Druitt Hospital.
She suffered a laceration to the right side of her forehead and a laceration to the front of her scalp, for which she was given multiple stitches.
Christopher was rushed to Westmead Hospital. He was diagnosed with multiple subdural haematomas and hearing loss.
He spent nine days in hospital before being discharged.
Trindall was arrested on June 3, 2024 and declined an interview.
Court documents also revealed how Trindall’s partner Faith Stafford was also at the scene in a car. She is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, Ms Stafford posted a photo of herself and Trindall, writing: “God’s plan is worth the wait”.
He is set to be released from jail on December 1.
Is there another case we should be covering? Get in touch with our reporter sarah.keoghan@news.com.au or reach out to us anonymously here.
Originally published as Former Panthers junior Maurice Trindall jailed for glassing woman
