Donaldson and his co-defendant had spent several hours together drinking alcohol and were also in the inner city.
Donaldson approached the victim. He asked for, and was given, a cigarette.
The three walked together until parting ways at the Frederick St intersection.
About 3.20am, the victim discovered his cigarettes missing, so walked back to the Octagon and bought another packet.
The three encountered each other again. Near an alleyway, Donaldson grabbed the victim by the arm and pulled him into the alleyway where he was assaulted.
At the time of the assault, Donaldson removed the victim's wallet from his jeans pocket.
The victim was left lying in the alleyway bleeding and semi-conscious.
As a result of the assault, the victim received serious facial injuries. A cut to the back of his head required stitches. He spent four days in hospital.
Spoken to, Donaldson admitted the facts but stated he had no part in the assault.
His co-defendant denied involvement in either the robbery or the assault, stating Donaldson was responsible.
Donaldson's assault victim on May 9 was a 67-year-old Dunedin City Council bus driver, who was standing next to a bus stop having a break, in George St, about 9.45pm.
Donaldson approached and asked him for a cigarette. When he refused, Donaldson head-butted him once in the forehead, then punched him once on the side of his face. The man managed to get away and climb on to his bus and lock the door.
Donaldson, heavily intoxicated, continued walking along the street with a female associate.
The assault victim received a small cut above his eyebrow and had a headache for the remainder of his shift.
Crown counsel Richard Smith said only a sentence of imprisonment was appropriate. The robbery victim's serious facial injuries went untreated because the man was unwilling to have surgery.
The victims of the two incidents were much older than Donaldson.
At the time of the offending, Donaldson was subject to sentences of community work and supervision.
Public defender Andrew Dawson said drugs and alcohol, and alcohol in particular, seemed to be the major driving factors in the offending. Although Donaldson was subject to two court sentences at the time, they were his first sentences. Donaldson had only 14 hours of community work remaining. His supervision was going well. He had been attending counselling and trying to address some of his issues.
Donaldson was remorseful for both offences. Had the victims wanted restorative justice, he had been ready to front up. He had hoped to come to court with an offer of emotional harm reparation. But the reality of his financial situation was he could not.
