Graeme Buckmaster jailed for threatening Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and Magistrate John Wells

A truck driver who threatened to pummel a magistrate and leave SA’s top cop “with scars” has been jailed – and it’s not his first time threatening an officer.

A grandfather who threatened a top cop and a magistrate if he lost his licence has previously been convicted of threatening to kill two police officers.

Graeme Scott Buckmaster, 65, was jailed for over two years in the Adelaide District Court on Tuesday after he left a magistrate feeling concerned for his safety.

The court heard Buckmaster divulged threats about Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and Magistrate John Wells to his psychologist.

“You said … ‘I will attack police and it will be Grant Stevens, not his minions below him’,” Judge Rauf Soulio said during sentencing.

“Further, you said that Mr Stevens would remember you every time he looked in the mirror … alluding to the disfigurement that you caused to Mr Stevens’ face.”

Police commissioner Grant Stevens. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Naomi Jellicoe

The court heard Buckmaster referred to other court charges including solo driver exceeding maximum work time and knowingly making a false or misleading statement.

“I will jump the dock and pummel the magistrate if they dare to take away my licence,” Buckmaster also told his psychologist.

He also said “I don’t care if I go to prison, it will be worth it”.

Buckmaster, of Semaphore, pleaded guilty to two counts of threats to cause harm.

The court previously heard the Director of Public Prosecutions consented to the charges being resolved in the magistrates’ jurisdiction.

However, Magistrate Brett Dixon said there was no magistrate that would or should hear the plea – given the risk of apprehension of bias – and referred it to a higher court.

Judge Soulio told the court Buckmaster, who is a father and grandfather, had worked in the trucking industry for most of his life.

The court heard the threats made against Mr Wells had a profound impact on him.

“He said he found the allegations disconcerting and unsettling … your threats made him concerned about his physical safety in court,” Judge Soulio said.

Graeme Buckmaster was jailed for threatening Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and Magistrate John Wells. Picture: Facebook

“You accept that your comments were extremely ill advised, you said you never intended to carry out the threats.”

The court heard Buckmaster had previously been convicted of threats to kill, after he called the media and said he was going to kill two police officers because he had just lost his trucking licence.

Buckmaster told the court last week he believed the criminal justice process was “unfair, unjust and bigoted”.

“I’ve been put in Port Augusta under lock and key to shut me up,” he said.

The court heard Buckmaster had apologised to Mr Wells in court and sent many letters to Mr Stevens from prison “offering him an olive branch”.

Judge Soulio sentenced Buckmaster to two years and two months jail, with a non-parole period of nine months.

“Judicial officers must be free from fear and unnecessary pressures so they may make appropriate decisions in accordance with the laws of the state,” he said.

The sentence was backdated to June 9, meaning Buckmaster is eligible for parole in a few weeks.