Emrah Turkyilmaz pleads guilty to going armed to cause fear and wilful damage after threatening driver with knife

The brother of a man shot outside his Gold Coast home two years ago threatened a driver with a knife and scratched his car in a terrifying road rage incident.

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THE brother of a man shot outside his Gold Coast home two years ago threatened a driver with a knife and scratched his car in a terrifying road rage incident.

That Emrah Turkyilmaz got out of his car armed with the knife was a “recipe for disaster”, a prosecutor told the Southport Magistrates Court.

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty on Wednesday to going armed to cause fear and wilful damage.

He’s the brother of Gokhan Turkyilmaz, who was shot in the groin in front of his Upper Coomera home in February 2019.

Gokhan Turkyilmaz and Emrah Türkyılmaz.

Police prosecutor Bob Falconer said Turkyilmaz was driving on the Gold Coast Hwy about 8.30am on January 13 when he and another car started to cut each other off. As they drove over the Sundale Bridge towards Southport, Turkyilmaz leaned over his passenger and held up a knife, waving it at the driver of the other vehicle.

When the other car stopped at traffic lights on Ada Bell Way, Turkyilmaz armed himself with a knife and got out of the car. His passenger armed himself with a baseball bat.

The pair yelled at the driver who refused to get out and drove off.

As he drove off Turkyilmaz used the knife to scratch his car.

Emrah Türkyılmaz and Gokhan Turkyilmaz.

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Police later found Turkyilmaz in a nearby park where he admitted to the incident. A knife and baseball bat were found in his car.

“This person has a knife and has anger problems, gets out of the car. It’s a recipe for disaster,” Mr Falconer said.

Turkyilmaz was on probation at the time.

Magistrate Cameron McKenzie sentenced Emrah Turkyilmaz to two months prison wholly suspended for 12 months.

“Why you would have a knife and a baseball bat in your car in the first place?” he said.

Magistrate McKenzie said the matter could not be “trivialised”.

“If they are cutting people off on the highway where there are other drivers and people walking on the side of the road and further putting other people’s life at risk, I can’t trivialise it,” he said.

Magistrate McKenzie said he commended Turkyilmaz for taking part in anger management programs and the men’s domestic violence program but that he had plenty of opportunities to rehabilitate.

Defence lawyer Farshad Sarabi, of Hannay Lawyers, said Turkyilmaz, who works as an industrial cleaner, was a “work in progress”.

He said he was in the process of finishing an anger management course.

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Originally published as Emrah Turkyilmaz pleads guilty to going armed to cause fear and wilful damage after threatening driver with knife