William David Barker sentenced for armed demands

An innocent woman was frightened a Sunshine Coast thug and his gun-wielding “boys” would kill her during their vigilante mission to recover funds from a car sale gone wrong.

A car sale gone wrong led to a Sunshine Coast thug and his “boys” storming a woman’s home with guns and making threats to stuff her in their boot while children hid in side.

William David Barker was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail in Maroochydore District Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to five offences including demanding property with menaces with intent to steal and attempting to enter a dwelling with intent while armed in company.

Crown prosecutor Rebecca Marks said Barker was described as being “off his head” when he and four other unknown men surrounded a woman’s home before pulling guns from a car on February 3, 2020.

Children between the ages of five and 10 were inside the house when Barker pointed at another male making gun gestures with his hand.

“(The man retrieved the gun from their car and) held it up to a window with his finger on the trigger as the defendant stated ‘he wanted all the money in the house now’,” Ms Marks said.

After failing to force open the locked front door Barker had returned to his car with one of the unknown men, who he referred to as “boys”, when he told the woman he had a bullet for her partner and his brother.

“The male passenger removed a handgun from the glove box and placed it on the dash of the car, … (Barker) produced a shotgun from under the seat and also placed it on the dash,” she said.

The court heard Barker tried to make a deal with the woman to get her partner and his brother to hand over $10,000 before he drove off.

“As he left the house he made a gun gesture with his hand, placed it to his own head and made a shooting action, he looked down and tapped his wrist,” she said.

On February 5, 2020 Barker returned to the address, stormed through the front door, demanded all the money in the house and threatened to put the woman in the boot of their car.

“She was frightened and didn't know if they would kill her …,” Ms Marks said.

The Maroochydore Court House. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Police were trying to arrest Barker when he took them on a wild chase speeding up to 100km/h, weaving through suburban streets and driving on the wrong side of the road.

Ms Marks said the female victim’s partner and brother bought a Commodore Ute from Barker before the offending.

“In my submission it’s vigilante behaviour designed to recover a debt that he believed was owed to him,” she said.

She said Barker had attended the woman’s home twice and demanded $14,000 from her partner’s brother before he returned with the guns on the two occasions.

Ms Marks said the terrified woman suffered a significant financial loss, was forced to move away from the region and struggles to sleep after the offending.

She said Barker had been on parole for just three months when he took part in the “premeditated, aggressive” behaviour against the innocent bystander.

“ … The (woman) had the right to feel safe and secure from thugs like the defendant and his accomplices,” she said

Ms Marks described Barker, now 35, as a “recidivist offender” and asked for a five-year prison sentence with a parole eligibility date.

She described him as a person who used threats and intimidation to get what he wanted.

Ms Marks noted there were parole delays and said a suspended sentence combined with probation was also an option for Judge Gary Long.

Barker’s barrister Lachlan Ygoa-Mckeown said the man’s offending was underpinned by his drug dependency that started when he went through a glass window and suffered an arm injury.

He said Barker, who had missed the birth of his child and was in custody for the death of his brother, showed significant insight and remorse for his offending.

“Mr Barker recognises that's no one’s fault but his own … he hasn’t been there for his brothers, sister, his mother or his partner,” he said.

“Mr Barker reflects that he should have taken appropriate action to otherwise repossess and resell the vehicle or take some (legitimate) action to try and enforce the payment for the vehicle.”

He said Barker had taken advantage of mental health assistance in custody, had a supportive family and had the capacity to become a “contributing member” of society.

Mr Ygoa-Mckeown asked for a four-year prison sentence with an immediate parole eligibility date.

He said Mr Long could also consider a five-year suspended sentence combined with three year probation order given the delays in parole.

Judge Gary Long said he had an obligation to protect the community from Barker, but said he also had to consider the time the father had spent in prison and his guilty plea.

Barker was disqualified from driving for four years.

He will be eligible for parole on April 9, 2022.