As the surfer ran for the hills, Berghofer attacked the man’s surfboard “with such force the axe went through the fibreglass”.
A man has fronted Tweed Heads local court and pleaded guilty to chasing a surfer with an axe, destroying his surfboard and causing relatively minor damage to the taillight of his whip.
Or, in legal terms, two counts of destroying or damaging property, going armed with intent to commit an indictable offence and common assault.
Michael Todd Berghofer, who is thirty-three, confronted the surfer at a joint called Norries Headland at the backside of Cabarita there, around nine-ten am.
First, he took out the surfer’s tail light with his axe and as the surfer was cleaning a barbecue, yelled, “Trying to hit on my mum, come to my unit block arguing with (mutual friend), I’ll kill you”, and advanced towards victim with axe raised.
As the surfer ran for the hills, Berghofer attacked the man’s surfboard “with such force the axe went through the fibreglass”.
Court documents reveal the damage was “near impossible” to be repaired.
In an interview with police, who seized two axes from his property, Berghofer conceded his behaviour wasn’t the best and maybe he was wrong to attack the man for hitting on his mammy.
His lawyer said, yeah, “completely inappropriate” etc.
The surfer asked the court for six-fifty in damages, one-fifty for his busted tail-light and five hundred for the board.
The magistrate sentenced Berghofer to an 18-month community corrections order and a 12-month intensive corrections order.
Sadly, cruelly given its the hub around which the entire case revolved, no pictures of hot mama.