Jamie Robert Burns (25) came before the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to assault with a weapon.
He entered Night ’n Day in the Octagon in the early hours of April 30 last year and walked into the dining area.
When the defendant was advised by the manager that section of the store was closed, he told the man he "deserved a bullet in the brain".
Burns subsequently left the shop and skated away but after travelling barely 100m he stopped and turned around.
The court heard the manager was outside on a break when the defendant re-entered the scene.
Burns swung the skateboard into the victim’s face, leaving him "stunned but standing".
He backed off briefly before confronting the man again, holding the board horizontally and "ramming" its end into his face.
Burns followed up the attack with further blows, as the victim held his hands up, trying to protect his head.
When the manager turned around, the defendant dropped his skateboard and punched him in the back of the head.
"At this point, the victim was facing away from the defendant and had his hands raised above his head in a ‘surrender’ gesture," court documents said.
"He offered no resistance to the defendant."
Burns responded by picking up his board, leaping into the air and hitting the man twice more with the improvised weapon.
The violence was still not over.
Burns struck the victim three more times in the chest and face then walked off.
The victim was treated at Dunedin Hospital for lacerations and bruised ribs, the court heard.
Burns admitted to police what he had done and explained he was angry because he had recently broken up with his partner and had "lost perspective".
After the summary of facts was read in court, the defendant reacted vocally and had to be led away to the cells where he spent the rest of the hearing.
Judge Emma Smith acknowledged the man had complex mental health needs, which made him "highly vulnerable".
"I have no doubt that Mr Burns’ moral culpability is far less than others," the judge said.
However, the unprovoked attack was an example of "gratuitous street violence with a weapon", she said.
"I’m of the firm view the skateboard and the way it was used is akin to a club or bat."
Nothing other than a sentence of imprisonment would suffice, she said.
