Ice-addicted gunman and sex offender Damien Keith Hall sentenced to four and a half years for Hindley St rampage

AN ice-addicted gunman who went on a rampage through Adelaide told his young daughter — whom he had threatened to kill as police surrounded their car — to “be good for Mum” as he was led into the cells to begin his prison term.

• How siege unfolded: Gunshot that ended a night of chaos
• October 2017: Hindley St gunman says he had not slept for 10 days
• September 2017: Siege gunman says he never threatened daughter
• May 2018: Gunman ‘doesn’t qualify as serious repeat offender’

THE ice-addicted gunman and sex offender who went on a rampage through Adelaide has told his young daughter — whom he had threatened to kill as police surrounded their car — to “be good for Mum” as he was led into the cells to begin his prison term.

On Thursday, the District Court jailed Damien Keith Hall for four and a half years, with a non-parole period of two years and nine months.

In sentencing, Judge Michael Boylan said Hall had been “born without a chance” due to his lifetime of physical and sexual abuse, illiteracy, drug addiction and criminal offending.

He said that while that elicited sympathy, “the sentencing process is not all about you” and the community must be protected.

Hall became visibly emotional, verging on tears several times, as Judge Boylan recounted the terror he had caused both his own family and innocent bystanders during the rampage.

As he was led from court to begin his jail term, Hall turned and waved to the eldest of his three daughters, who sat in the public gallery with relatives.

“I love you, baby, be good for Mum,” he said.

Gunman and sex offender Damien Keith Hall. Picture: Facebook.

Hall, 28, pleaded guilty to offences including false imprisonment and threatening to kill or endanger the life of a person.

In November 2016, he went to the Cumberland Park home of his pregnant former partner and, while armed with a fake gun, forced her and their children — aged three and seven months — into a car.

After threatening the woman’s neighbour, he led police on a high-speed chase — with his family still in the car — that lasted 90 minutes despite the use of a police helicopter and road spikes.

Hall drove through Rundle Mall and down Hindley St, where he threatened police with the cap gun before STAR Group officers fired a single shot, ending the incident.

Those offences occurred 12 months after Hall indecently assaulted another woman — who had given him and his family a place to stay when they were homeless.

The stand-off ended when a police officer fired a single shot, wounding Hall. Picture: Facebook.

Hall initially faced a maximum 20-year jail term, but brokered a plea bargain which led to that penalty being taken off the table.

Last month, the court was told Hall did not qualify, under state law, as a serious repeat offender.

That exempted him from receiving a harsher-than-usual prison term, as allowed under sentencing legislation.

On Thursday, Judge Boylan said neither Hall’s family, nor innocent bystanders, nor police, had any way of knowing his firearm was fake.

“(During the siege) you pointed (it) to the throat of your distressed and crying daughter ... an officer heard you say ‘I will kill her, I will kill her’,” he said.

“I accept that, at no stage, did you have any intention of harming your daughter.”

He said the little girl now required counselling.

“She misses you very much and often asks when you are coming home ... she feels lost, hurt and very confused,” he said.

He said Hall’s former partner had been “generous” in her submissions to the court, indicating she was still supportive of him.

“She said ‘I want Damien to get some help, I want him to be a healthy father for his children’,” he said.

Judge Boylan said Hall continued to battle both mental illness and the catastrophic effects of his “horrific early life”.

“It’s fair to say you were born without a chance ... yours was a childhood characterised by abuse, neglect and severe trauma,” he said.

He said Hall remained tormented by a childhood encounter with a police officer who had, without lawful reason, held him at gunpoint — and later went to jail.

“As a result, you have no trust of police officers,” he said.

Hall will be eligible to seek release on parole in August next year.

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