Man sentenced to jail after violent assault on Gosford café owner
A New South Wales man has been jailed for a brutal and unprovoked attack that saw a café owner thrown through a plate-glass window in Gosford, leaving the victim injured and deeply traumatised.
Marouf Alameddine, 40, appeared in Gosford Local Court where he pleaded guilty to a string of offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intimidation, damaging property, hindering police, and assaulting police. The court was told Alameddine, a former traffic controller and disability support worker, was not taking his prescribed medication—seroquel and lithium—at the time of the incident.
The attack took place on 10 January at Lakes Espresso Café, where Alameddine had previously been asked not to return by owners Felix and Mia Granato.
According to the agreed facts, he returned that morning, became verbally aggressive and abusive, and escalated the confrontation.
“The accused has then backed the victim against a wall while pointing in the victim’s face and shouting words to the effect of ‘I’m not gonna touch ya, I’m gonna make friends next time’,” the court heard.
“The accused then raises his left hand and strikes the victim in the face and begins to walk away from the scene, causing the victim to feel immediate pain and fall to the ground.
Alameddine struck Granato, pushed him through the adjoining window of a neighbouring business, and assaulted him further once on the ground.
“The accused then uses two hands, pushing the victim in the shoulders and through a large glass window belonging to Care2Help, a business situated beside the location,” the facts state.
“The victim has fallen through the window, cutting along his right arm. The accused was then on top of the victim, with the victim attempting to cover his face. The accused using a closed left fist then strikes the victim in the face and head three times.
“The accused then shuffles his body to gain further control, kneeling on the head and face of the victim.
“The accused then stands up and kicks the victim, saying ‘Do you want to chase me around Gosford you f–king [slur]”.
Magistrate Kirralee Perry said, “I can only imagine how terrified a shop owner was doing their job, serving coffees and then getting thrown through a plate-glass window.”
Alameddine later resisted arrest, assaulting officers before being subdued with OC spray. Magistrate Kirralee Perry sentenced him to two years in prison with a non-parole period of 16 months, describing the attack as terrifying.
Jonathan Jackson, 15th April 2025
