'Diplomat Dan' found guilty of assaulting wife, splashing acid on Tasmania Police officers
Daniel Victor Gandini, who refers to himself as Diplomat Dan, outside the Supreme Court in Burnie. (ABC News: Sandy Powell)
- In short: Daniel Victor Gandini, who referred to himself as "Diplomat Dan", has been found guilty of assaulting his wife and splashing a corrosive acid on police officers.
- At the end of a three-week trial in the Supreme Court in Burnie, the jury deliberated for about three hours before returning guilty verdicts on six of the seven charges.
- What's next? Gandini was remanded in custody to appear in court next for sentencing submissions.
Daniel Victor Gandini assaulted his wife and splashed a corrosive acid on four police officers who attempted to arrest him for the family violence at his Tasmanian home in 2021, a jury has found.
Late on Monday, following a three-week trial, the 12-person jury in the Supreme Court in Burnie deliberated for about three hours before returning guilty verdicts on six of the seven charges Gandini was facing for the events of July 7 and 8, 2021.
Gandini, who has insisted on being referred to as "Diplomat Dan" or "Dan" during the trial, was found guilty of two counts of assault against his ex-wife and four unlawful acts intended to cause bodily harm to the four police officers.
After the verdicts were delivered, Chief Justice Alan Blow asked Gandini if he had any pets that needed attention.
"You're not going to like this, but I'm going to remand you in custody," the chief justice said.
Gandini protested and said he would like to lodge an appeal against the verdict, but the judge held firm and ordered he be taken into custody, but agreed he could lodge the appeal.
Over the past three weeks the jury has heard evidence from the incident, which stemmed from the defendant's physical assaults of his wife.
He was found guilty of two of the three counts of assault she alleged.
She told the jury she then fled with their two children from the Port Sorell home, which Gandini then locked himself inside about 8:30am on July 8.
The victim told the jury she did not immediately leave the property or call police, and security footage from the home showed her and the children in the carport of the property for an hour or so, in their pyjamas, in the middle of winter.
She called Gandini's psychologist Michael Marriott, who told her to call triple-0 and contacted police himself, but she was "reluctant" as she eventually told police she was concerned for her husband's safety and mental health.
However, she was also concerned about police safety as she said her husband had previously threatened to set off explosives if police ever attempted to arrest him.
During the trial, Gandini called the ensuing police operation to arrest him a "siege", and Mr Marriott told the jury that when he arrived on the evening of July 8 there was an "alarming number" of police officers on site.
Dan represented himself throughout the three-week trial. (ABC News: Meg Powell)
Gandini claimed he was simply in the "peaceful occupation" of his home, and that he had little idea of what was going on outside, but the jury saw videos of knives stashed in the architraves of doorways and a bottle of hydrochloric acid open on the kitchen bench.
Police witnesses told the jury multiple attempts had been made to contact Gandini throughout the day, but that he had refused to engage with negotiators, and members of the Tasmania Police special operations group used explosives to breach the front door about 9:30pm.
A member at the front of their group of four described to the jury how Gandini then appeared in the blasted doorway, wearing goggles and brandishing a jug of liquid, which he then splashed on the police officers.
The officer described the "excruciating pain" that followed as the liquid began to burn his head and face and affect his eyesight.
He said while being treated by paramedics on site he noticed that his tactical clothing had begun to melt and disintegrate after contact with the liquid.
Using "less-lethal" ammunition, one witness described as bean bags fired from a shotgun, Gandini was then shot multiple times and subdued, before being taken into custody and treated at the North West Regional Hospital.
Sovereign citizens, Magna Carta raised during trial
Throughout the trial he constantly denied the version of events as described by the various witnesses and Crown prosecutor Peter Sherriff, and made references to the Magna Carta and the concept of sovereign citizens.
At times he claimed that Tasmania Police was a private company, questioned the authority of the courts and judges and said Queen Elizabeth had committed treason against Australian people.
He staunchly denied the accusations and claimed that he was the one who was a victim of domestic violence, and of a conspiracy orchestrated by his ex-wife and the police.
The jury returned majority verdicts on all charges and found him guilty of the six of the seven counts alleged.
Gandini was remanded in custody for sentencing submissions on Tuesday, June 25.
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