Harvey man who slammed car door on woman’s leg outside an IGA found guilty of assault

A Harvey man who followed a woman to her car and slammed the door on her leg while she attempted to get away outside a supermarket has faced court. Robert Smith, 39, was found guilty of common assault in the Harvey Magistrates Court after a one-day trial last week following the incident outside Parton’s IGA earlier this year. The court was told the man had followed Kelly Montgomery to her Ford sedan after she went into the Uduc Road supermarket to pick up a friend about 5pm on January 23. Smith, who was known to the woman, slammed the door on Ms Montgomery’s leg after she sat in the driver’s seat of her car and attempted to reach through the window and grab her car keys, before she was able to drive away. In giving evidence, Ms Montgomery said the man had walked right up to her face before the incident occurred to the point where she could “feel his breath” on her. “I felt very scared, at one point he got very close,” she said. The court was told Ms Montgomery first saw the man, who was with his wife and child, when she first entered the store. Ms Montgomery said she heard the couple say something in relation to her. “I couldn’t make out all the words, but I heard them say something about dogs and fleas,” she said. In a video of an interview conducted by Harvey police in February, Smith said he did not touch anyone and Ms Montgomery’s claims were false. “I was walking to IGA with my wife and three-year-old daughter and she called me a paedophile,” Smith said. “My hand was on the roof and I did not touch her.” In giving evidence, witness Lisa Marie Hadson, who knows Smith and Ms Montgomery, said the pair had been arguing outside the IGA, prompting her to yell at the man to “leave her alone”. “Rob slammed the car door on her foot and she (Ms Montgomery) drove off, he (Smith) pushed the door with the top and window part, it was very quick,” she said. Magistrate Belinda Coleman said it was clear there was animosity between the pair. “I accept the evidence and reject the contention from Mr Smith,” she said. “You lost your cool for reasons I don’t need to know about, you’ve remained away from her so that tells me you can do the right thing when you need to.” Smith was fined $800 to be paid to Ms Montgomery, as well as court costs of $251.50.