Benje Hemmett sentenced over Tuchekoi firefighter assault
A rural firefighter was attacked with a 45kg gas cylinder while battling a deliberately lit blaze, with a Gympie court told shocking details of the farm assault.
A troubled man who torched a shed on his parents’ farm south of Gympie then hurled a 45kg gas bottle at a firefighter trying to put it out, and bashed him.
Tuchekoi man Benje Aaron Anthony Hemmett, 45, pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court from behind bars on Tuesday, and the events of June 27 this year were revealed.
The court heard emergency services, which included seven fire crews, attended the Tuchekoi fire at 3am.
Hemmett later admitted to paramedics he “lit the big fire”, the court heard.
He also confronted the firefighting captain on the scene and “abused, threatened and assaulted” him, police prosecutor Richard Higham said.
Senior Constable Higham said Hemmet “threw water on him, threatened to kill him and hurled a 45kg gas cylinder that struck his legs, before punching him multiple times in the body”.
“The incident required a substantial emergency response with multiple fire and police units attending,” Snr Const Higham said.
He said the obstruction resulted in the “complete destruction of the property, and placed others in danger”.
Hemmett’s troubled history was revealed to the court by solicitor Patrick Meehan, who described a life “peppered with mental health issues” and “some evidence” of “reduced moral culpability”.
Mr Meehan said Hemmett had suffered three separate brain injuries, including one at Maryborough prison in 2020, and had not received adequate professional care.
He had a “significant, persistent criminal history” taking up five pages, including a 2016 conviction of assaulting and obstructing a police officer.
“There is a community disdain for behaviour that harms public officers,” Magistrate Bevan Hughes said.
“People were … in need of help, and (your) behaviour risked the lives of those around you …”
Mr Hughes told Hemmett it was “not (his) fault” he had not received better professional care, and the “love and support from family” was “foundational” in addressing his mental health concerns.
Hemmet pleaded guilty to serious assault of a public officer, was ordered to pay $500 in restitution to the firefighter, and sentenced to a total of 15 months’ imprisonment.
His 99 days spent in pre-sentence custody was declared, convictions were recorded, and his parole date was set for immediate release on October 21.
