Stanthorpe man faces court for confronting ex-partner’s boyfriend with hunting knife

A Southern Downs business owner could have ‘been looking at a murder charge’ after confronting his ex-partner’s new boyfriend with a hunting knife.

A man has been sentenced over a domestic violence incident at Stanthorpe that involved serious threats of violence towards the new partner of his ex.

The Stanthorpe businessman – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was sentenced in Warwick Magistrates Court on July 5 after pleading guilty to two charges of contravening a domestic violence order and wilful damage, common assault and possessing a knife in a public place.

The court was told that on May 28 the man was found by his his ex-partner sitting in her car with a “large” hunting knife hidden in his pants.

He got into a fight with the woman’s new partner, before the 43-year-old then slashed at the tyres of the vehicle.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Andrew Grafton told the court the offence could have “easily escalated” and said the man needed a punishment which reflected the community’s opinion that they do not condone the offending.

Sergeant Grafton noted the man had four prior domestic violence incidents and hadn’t learnt from his previous sentences.

Defence lawyer Sarah Campbell told the court that the man had “no criminal history” prior to the relationship’s breakdown, and that there was a clear “escalation of offending” but the man was “capable of rehab”.

“He has been taking subliminary steps and engaging in a meaningful way,” Ms Campbell said.

“In terms of rehabilitation he will continue counselling, including anger management and domestic violence counselling.”

Magistrate Andrew Cridland said the offending was a “serious escalation” of the previous four offences and the seriousness of the offending was “alarming”.

“These are serious offences, it’s extremely concerning, especially when there is a degree of violence involved,” Mr Cridland said.

It was revealed the man had been on probation since August 2022.

“These are very alarming offences in the context which they have been committed- you sought out your partner and behaved in a manner which caused the scuffle with her partner, which involved her getting involved as well,” the magistrate said.

“At all times through the encounter, you are armed with a knife, that’s probably a millimetre away from a disaster because if that knife was produced in such a situation we’d be probably be looking at a charge of murder here today, which is something the court needs to be aware of.”

The man was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, with a parole release after three months. He had 38 days in custody as time served.