‘Diplomat Dan’ jailed for assaulting wife and throwing acid at arresting Tasmania Police officers

The President of the Supreme Court said that Daniel Victor Gandini has “very strange views” about the world and his place in it.

In the High Court in Burna on Thursday, Chief Justice Alan Blow sentenced Gandini, who had previously told the court he “strongly prefers” to be called “Diplomat Dan”, to a “substantial” prison term for offenses committed at his Port Sorell home.

After Gandini represented himself during a three-week trial, a jury on Monday found him guilty of twice assaulting his ex-wife and then throwing corrosive acid at four task force police officers who came to arrest him.

Daniel Victor Gandini, “Diplomat Dan,” represented himself throughout the three-week trial.(ABC News: Meg Powell)

After locking up the house with her children on the morning of July 8, 2021, the complainant called the police, which led to an 11-hour delay as Gandini refused to leave the house.

Passing sentence, the judge said he had called Gandini, 44, “Dan” throughout the trial to “minimize tensions” and would continue to do so during sentencing.

Giving evidence at the trial, Gandini’s former psychologist Michael Marriott said his former patient’s identity was “not rational” and “is a curiosity of his own making.”

Questioning Senior Constable Bobby Gray during the trial, Gandini said he was on a “diplomatic mission” under the Vienna Convention, which the officer and Commissioner Donna Adams were aware of.

Senior Constable Gray denied having any knowledge of such a mission.

“It was clear from what Dan said that he had very strange ideas about his identity, status, law and treatment by others,” Chief Justice Blow said at the sentencing.

Chief Justice Alan Blow sentenced Gandini to three years and six months in prison on the charges.(Delivered by: Supreme Court of Tasmania)

The judge finds that moral culpability for the crimes has been “significantly reduced.”

The judge spoke at length about Gandini’s mental state and found that his “mental functioning was impaired” during the events of July 8, 2021, ultimately concluding that his moral culpability for the crimes committed had been “significantly diminished.”

However, he said that in prison, Gandini would be able to access the support he needed.

Chief Justice Blow also said the defendant had “stayed out of trouble” in the 19 months since he was released on bail for these charges in November 2022, and that he “maintained his composure throughout the trial despite some stressful situation.” moments”.

Discussing Gandini’s crimes, Chief Justice Blow said there was a “very low level of violence” in both attacks on his wife, but that children were present and the incident would have been “very disturbing” for them.

Since the incident, the family has moved interstate and the Port Sorell home has been sold, but the proceeds of the sale have been frozen due to ongoing family law litigation.

The jury heard evidence that the complainant had been very upset by Gandini’s actions and was worried about his mental health when she called the police.

Gandini described her as “hysterical” and claimed she fabricated a bomb hoax to attract the large police response that followed.

The jury heard a triple-0 call in which it said Gandini had previously said he would be “ready for war” if the police ever came for him.

The judge said the first police officer on the scene also stated he had access to explosives and had experience in the mining industry.

A “very large number of police” then arrived at the scene, including a bomb response squad, special operations group officers, drone operators and negotiators.

Chief Justice Blow said the crimes committed against the four police officers were more serious and that it was significant that they were simply “doing their duty” by trying to arrest Gandini.

“There is no doubt that the acid attack… was very dangerous and could have… caused much greater damage,” the judge said.

The judge found that only one of the four officers suffered physical injuries and made a full recovery, but he was convinced that Gandini had thrown corrosive acid at the police twice in quick succession.

However, he also determined that Gandini committed the crimes to prevent his arrest and “scare them away”, rather than seriously injure them.

The judge found that none of the police officers informed Gandini that they were trying to arrest him on suspicion of domestic violence during the incident, which the defendant also repeated throughout the trial.

Gandini sentenced to three years and six months in prison

On the night of July 8, 2021, the defendant was placed in custody, where he remained on the charges for 15 months, so the judge postponed the sentence to January 22, 2023.

Gandini was found guilty and sentenced to three years and six months in prison for six charges.

Sent 2 hours agoThu. June 27, 2024 at 4:02 am, updated 1 hour agoThu, June 27, 2024 at 4:38 am