Colac man Ashley Griffiths threatened to kill mother

A Colac man made a terrifying threat to shoot his mother in the head, a court was told.

Ashley Griffiths threatened to shoot his mother in the head. Picture: Facebook.

A Colac man threatened to cut his mother’s throat and “shoot her in the head” during an argument about where he would live.

Colac man Ashley Griffiths, 42, who has ties to the Geelong area, was told he will serve a term of imprisonment for making several terrifying threats to kill his mother over the weekend.

Griffiths pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and possessing drugs of dependence, being cannabis and methamphetamine, and breaching a community corrections order in the Geelong Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon.

The court heard the argument started at about 5am on Saturday over the possibility of Griffiths’ older brother moving back into the house.

Griffiths told his mother he believed he would be kicked out of the home if his brother moved in in.

He became “more aggressive and erratic” towards her as the argument escalated.

The mother tried to record the threats with her phone, but called another son to witness the argument when this did not work.

Griffiths told her he wanted to “cut her throat” and “shoot her in the head” with guns he alleged belonged to a family member.

Ashley Griffiths became increasingly “aggressive and erratic” towards his mother. Picture: Facebook.

The court heard the woman told police said she was “over his aggressive behaviour as it scares her” and it had been “consistent over the last 11 months”.

When Griffiths arrived at the police station, officers found a small container of prescription medication that was not in his name and discovered he had hidden 1.31g of cannabis inside him.

While he was being held in custody, his mother arrived at the station to hand in a small ziplock bag containing 7.08g of methamphetamine that she found in his room.

Defence lawyer Megan Campbell said Griffiths had an “ongoing issue with drug use” but intended to “get as far away from his mother and brother as he can” as soon as he was released from custody.

Magistrate Ann McGarvie gave a sentencing indication of a prison term and a community corrections order, which Griffiths accepted.

Ms McGarvie said Griffiths’ criminal history was associated with drug use and said she was concerned about him returning to court.

“It seems to me it is escalating and these threats to his mother and the aggression towards her is totally unacceptable,” she said.

Griffiths will be assessed for a community corrections order and will return to court next week for sentencing.

Originally published as Colac man Ashley Griffiths threatened to kill mother