Two out of three siblings were found guilty of assaulting a senior.

Lauren Grant, 44, Pernell Grant, 43, and Dominic Grant, 41, pleaded not guilty to assaulting Leslie Pryce October 3, 2005 and causing actual bodily harm.

Last week Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo found Lauren Grant guilty of common assault, Pernell Grant guilty of assault and acquitted Dominic Grant.

He said because Lauren Grant threw the block and missed Mr. Pryce, it wasn’t assault but common assault. The judge said the law required Dominic Grant should be acquitted altogether.

The sister received a conditional discharge for 12 months and her brother was given the maximum $3,000 fine to be paid by the end of August.

During the trial, Magistrates’ Court had heard that the siblings grew angry when their mother told them she may have entered into a $30,000 contract with her tenant, Mr. Pryce, to finish renovations on a home in Smith’s she owned.

Mr. Pryce, an upholsterer by trade, had told Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo the attack on him occurred outside his then home in Somersall Lane, Smith’s, which was near Millicent Grant’s home, the mother of the three defendants.

He said he was sitting outside reading the newspaper when he saw Lauren Grant nearby on her cell phone. Not long after that, he said, Pernell and Dominic Grant turned up.

Mr. Pryce claimed Lauren Grant went inside her mother’s house before dashing out and asking him: “Why do you have my mother signing a contract?”

Mr. Pryce said he did not reply to Lauren Grant’s question, and carried on reading his paper.

But the next thing he saw, she raised a concrete block over her head — causing him to shift in order to avoid being hit.

He said it splintered on the ground and described Grant’s demeanour at the time as “very very angry. She was in a rage”.

The complainant said he felt a blow to his neck by Pernell Grant followed by a punch in the mouth by Dominic causing him to fall and hit his head on his van. The complainant also suffered cuts to his top lip.

Mr. Pryce said when he got up, he heard Dominic Grant say “let’s finish him off” and went back into his apartment to call the Police. Pernell Grant admitted earlier this year he did punch the complainant in the mouth but was provoked.

Crown counsel Nicole Smith said Lauren Grant should be give a three-month prison sentence because the maximum for the offence is 12 months.

She also said Pernell Grant should receive a six month prison sentence because he caused actual bodily harm to Mr. Pryce. The maximum time for assault is two years imprisonment.

Llewellyn Peniston, holding for Rick Woolridge, who represented Pernell Grant during the trial, said the incident “arose out of very strong family feelings”.

He said the trio had an interest in protecting their mother and nothing else.

Mr. Peniston told the court the likelihood of Pernell Grant re-offending was highly unlikely and a custodial sentence should not be imposed.

“This man is a proud member of the community and it would be to the community’s disadvantage if we incarcerate him”.

Victoria Pearman argued there had never been a case where someone who had been convicted of common assault received a custodial sentence.

She also said it was highly doubtful that Lauren Grant would re-offend.