Bilobele Byamungu pleads guilty to burglary, assault, wilful damage at Collingwood Park

A court has heard a child was present when a man and woman assaulted and threatened a man in his own home.

Bilobele Byamungu pleaded guilty to burglary, assault and wilful damage.

A court has heard how a man armed himself with a bow and arrow before joining a female friend on a terrifying home invasion in Ipswich.

The victim was attacked in his home by former girlfriend Teina Ioana Muliaga and also saw a man at the door holding a loaded bow and arrow, in what the Ipswich court heard would have been a frightening experience that ‘violated the sanctity of his home’.

A child was also at the house at the time.

Bilobele Byamungu, 24, from Goodna, appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to four charges including committing burglary in Collingwood Park on October 16 last year; two counts of unlawful assault; and wilful damage.

The Crown prosecution withdrew two other charges of threatening violence/discharge of firearm, and assault causing bodily harm when in company, with no evidence offered.

The two charges were dismissed by Magistrate Leanne Scoines.

Ms Holstein, legal officer with the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that his co-accused, Teina Ioana Muliaga, 26, from Redbank Plains, had already been sentenced for her role.

Ms Holstein said Muliaga took a swing at the male occupant outside the house and went inside where she tried to pick up a money box.

She tried to swing punches but the man dodged them and Muliaga punched a wall.

The court heard the victim then saw Byamungu standing at the doorway holding a drawn loaded bow with an arrow.

Ms Holstein said the bow was then unloaded and Muliaga punched the frightened man in his right eye.

An Ipswich court heard Bilobele Byamungu held a bow and arrow during a home invasion.

Both offenders then left.

Ms Holstein said the bow and arrows were later located by police inside Byamungu’s car.

He was arrested and held in custody for one day.

Ms Holstein said it would have been a terrifying ordeal.

“He has armed himself with a bow and arrow and he had the apparent ability to use it,” Ms Holstein said.

“She (Muliaga) was the orchestrator of the event. It violated the sanctity of someone’s home.”

Defence lawyer Dylan Hans acknowledged it was a home invasion offence but only the co-accused used actual violence.

“My client was party to the violence. They are just friends,” Mr Hans said.

The magistrate, Ms Scoines, said Byamungu did have a crossbow and arrows for that weapon.

She said that she read in the written submission by defence that he had disputed that “it was ready to go”.

“The person in the house says it was pointed at them at one point,” Ms Scoines said.

“For the victim it would be terrifying to have two people in their house, one carrying a weapon. A child was present.”

Ms Scoines said Byamungu was a Congolese man who came to Australia in 2012, was employed and had a large extended family.

“The community has high expectations that these types of offences will be punished harshly as it is a violation of a person’s home,” she said.

“We have expectations that we can live safely in our homes.

“It would be frightening. I don’t know what the motivation was, but it seems your connection to it was not terribly strong.

“I take it that you were way over your head, but you made a conscious decision to take the bow and arrows with you. It would be really scary for them.”

Ms Scoines convicted and sentenced Byamungu to a suspended 10-month jail order for the burglary. He received lesser penalties for the other charges including six months jail for the assaults.