Rodney Malcolm Graham sentenced in Gladstone for crime spree

A driver ended up with glass in his mouth as a Queensland man went wild with a pole and rocks in a McDonald’s carpark - but the rampage didn’t end there.

Rodney Malcolm Graham was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court on February 28.

A man has been sentenced for a crime spree which included smashing up McDonald’s customers cars and threatening to kill a security guard.

Rodney Malcolm Graham, 43, appeared in custody in Gladstone Magistrates Court where he pleaded to 16 offences including assault occasioning bodily harm in public while intoxicated, going armed to cause fear, possessing dangerous drugs, wilful exposure and four counts of wilful damage.

Graham’s Rockhampton offending happened in the carpark of the George Street McDonald’s store on November 2 last year.

About 10.30pm, he threw rocks at two vehicles - hitting both a Mazda and a Honda Civic.

Then using a pole, he struck the front windscreen of a Haval while its male owner was sitting behind the wheel.

The impact caused the windscreen to shatter and glass went into the driver’s mouth.

Graham fled before police arrived.

Then just after midnight, Graham struck again, throwing a rock at an MG vehicle.

All of the cars Graham threw rocks at sustained 10cm to 20cm dents.

Graham’s crime spree started at Cairns on June 27 last year, where he threatened staff at a shopping centre with a wine bottle before a security guard escorted him outside.

While being escorted, Graham yelled at the security guard, saying he was going to “bash you and knock you out.”

Once outside, Graham picked up a plastic “wet floor” sign and threw it at the guard who had to move to avoid being hit.

To this point, the guard had sustained scratches on a forearm and swelling to a hand during the incident with Graham.

Graham then yelled: “I’m going to come back and kill you.”

Rodney Malcolm Graham.

He ran off and returned a short time later with a knife.

He said to the guard: “I’ve got a knife now, I’m going to kill you.”

The guard called Triple-0 fearing he was going to be stabbed.

Graham continued to yell at him, saying: “Come out on the street, I want to kill you.”

Before police arrived, Graham fled the scene but when they caught up with him later that day, he had a bong in his pocket.

Then on July 14, police caught Graham with .27g of methamphetamine and two bongs.

At Gladstone on December 21, about 5.40pm, Graham was walking on Tank Street when he dropped his track pants to his ankles, exposing himself to cars driving past.

Police subsequently received multiple calls from the public and attended.

Prior to Graham being sentenced in the Gladstone court on February 28, it heard he had “a lengthy 25 years of criminal history” which included convictions for serious assault of a person over 60, going armed to cause fear, and drug offences among others.

Solicitor Bianca Wieland said Graham, a father of three, was born and raised in Rockhampton and he had a transient childhood.

She said he had suffered from drug and alcohol issues “his entire life” and once released from custody he hoped to return to Gladstone.

Magistrate Mary Buchanan sentenced Graham to 12 months’ jail, declared 69 days pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole eligibility at March 21, 2024.

She also ordered Graham do 40 hours of unpaid community service and convictions were recorded.