Jordan Alexander Murphy sentenced to 4.5 years for armed carjacking, break and enter, attempts to pervert justice

A Dingo Beach man with a long history of drug addiction threatened an elderly man with a gun before stealing his car. Then he tried to pressure a witness.

Jordan Alexander Murphy. Picture: Facebook

A Dingo Beach man with a shocking history of childhood drug addiction stormed into an elderly man’s home while armed with a gun and stole a red v8 Commodore.

He later tried to pressure a witness to change his statement to the police.

Jordan Alexander Murphy, 27, was on parole on the night of May 4, 2021, when, armed with a firearm, he entered the home of an 84-year-old man.

The two knew each other from the Dingo Beach Hotel, where Murphy worked.

Mackay District Court heard Murphy, 27, stood over the man, who has a deteriorating heart condition and a pacemaker in his chest, and threatened him for his car keys.

The man asked Murphy to take an insured vehicle instead of the uninsured red Commodore, but Murphy refused, stole the car and drove off into the night.

Murphy later abandoned the Commodore.

When it was recovered, the car had suffered significant damage estimated at $18,636.

It is not suggested Murphy was the direct cause of the damage.

The court heard the elderly man was “shaken” by the experience and was taken to hospital and given medication to lower his heart rate.

Murphy’s parole was suspended on May 11 and he was arrested on May 14.

On June 11, the court heard Murphy rang the father of the witness to the carjacking from the Capricornia Correctional Facility and asked him to deliver a message.

“You are going to have to change your statement, brother,” Murphy said.

“You need to change your statement because I am looking at 10 years for this.

“It has f--ked me up, brother.”

Before the carjacking, it was also revealed Murphy broke into the home of a female friend in Proserpine on April 29 while high on drugs and vomited on himself before leaving.

On her return home, the woman found her window and door smashed.

Murphy called her the next day to apologise.

While in prison, he asked his mother to contact the woman and ask her to withdraw her complaint.

Crown prosecutor Erin Kelly said Murphy had a lengthy criminal history and his attempt to contact the woman and carjacking witness struck “at the heart of the justice system”.

Defence barrister Gavin Webber said his client, who grew up in the Bundaberg area, was “extremely remorseful” and committed to rehabilitation.

The court heard Murphy began using drugs at the age of 13 and had spent much of his life in the grips of addiction.

“He was very much drug-affected at the time of all the offences,” Mr Webber said.

“He was using whatever he could get access to.”

The court heard Murphy had cleaned up in prison and had begun attending weekly church services.

At the time of his hearing on November 17, Murphy had spent 552 days in custody, serving out an earlier sentence imposed on him by the Hervey Bay District Court.

For charges of armed carjacking, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, break and enter and two attempts to pervert justice, Judge Anthony Rafter sentenced Murphy to 4.5 years in prison.

Convictions were recorded and his parole eligibility date was set for July 17, 2023.