Grant Stephen Lloyd Higgins: Man walks free from Warwick court after threatening to kill mother

A Warwick man has walked free from court after a string of violent offending that included helping another man terrorise their victim at his family home and targeting his ex-girlfriend.

A Warwick man who threatened to kill his mother while armed only a few months before aiding another man in a violent confrontation and damaging his ex-girlfriend’s house has walked free from court.

Grant Stephen Lloyd Higgins began his crime spree in May last year when he stole two bank cards from the mother of his then-partner while she was visiting the pair at their sharehouse.

Warwick Magistrates Court was told the 24-year-old used the cards to withdraw $730 in cash from ATMs around town and refused to speak with police when they eventually tracked him down.

Police prosecutor Steve de Lissa said it was only weeks later on July 29 that Higgins was visiting his mother at her home when an argument broke out and quickly escalated.

“He made threats to damage the victim’s house and armed himself with a metal pole,” he said.

“He called the victim ‘scum’ and threatened to kill her, then left the address with his girlfriend.”

The Warwick man was busted carrying a small amount of marijuana and a used glass pipe when searched by police in October last year, and that same month helped another woman steal an appliance from Big W worth $349.

Sergeant de Lissa said Higgins’ most serious offending occurred on December 27 when he and another man pulled up outside a Warwick house, where a third man was on the front veranda while visiting family.

The pair armed themselves with a metal bar and carving knife respectively and began goading the other man to fight them, with Higgins saying, “Come at me little fella, have a dig”.

“The other male with the knife said, ‘I’m going to kill you’, and the man on the veranda who had military training was concerned for the safety of the other persons,” Sergeant de Lissa said.

“The other man threw the carving knife, but it didn’t hit (the victim).”

The court was told that other people soon came running from the house and yelling at the Warwick men to leave, and they eventually fled the scene once they realised the police had been called.

It was only weeks later again that Higgins went to the house where he and his ex-girlfriend had previously lived together, standing in the front yard and yelling at her before hurling a large rock through a window.

The Warwick court heard the man had a criminal history and was given a suspended jail sentence for previous offending.

Defence lawyer Hamish Chapman contended his client’s co-accused was the driving force behind the most violent conduct, and that both substance abuse and the death of a close friend made it a difficult period for the man.

“The trick for Mr Higgins now for the past couple of months has been surrounding himself with people who will help him tackle these issues,” he said.

“He’s reduced his use somewhat, and he’s making greater efforts to reach out and speak about his thoughts and feelings on his friend’s passing.”

Mr Chapman acknowledged Higgins’ approach to mental health and rehabilitation had been “unsophisticated” to that point, and asked for his attempts at progress to be taken into account.

Magistrate Julian Noud sentenced Higgins to 12 months’ jail with immediate release on parole, saying his written plea to the court for a lesser punishment meant little when compared to his criminal history.

“You’ve had the leniency of the courts in the past, and you are now in this position again seeking leniency,” he said.

“There doesn’t really seem to be any genuine attempts by you, beyond your plea of guilty, to gain any real insight into the cause of your offending.”

Higgins pleaded guilty to one count each of going armed so as to cause fear, threatening violence, and wilful damage.

He also pleaded guilty to a further two counts each of fraud and failing to appear, and one each of stealing after a previous conviction, breaching bail, possessing drugs, and possessing drug utensils.

The Warwick man was also ordered to pay a total of $904.50 in restitution.