Monique Sarah Deighton: Warwick mother jailed over violent Leslie Dam shooting

A Warwick woman told her gun-wielding husband he was a ‘weak c--t’ and ‘had to do something’ just moments before a man was shot at a popular family holiday spot, and while her own children were just metres away.

A Warwick mother will spend only months behind bars after pleading guilty to accompanying her husband in a dramatic and violent shooting at Leslie Dam while her young children were in a car just metres away.

The altercation first broke out at about 6pm on October 30, 2020 when Monique Sarah Deighton and her now-deceased husband, Scott Richard Allen, went to pick up a television from a man at a caravan park on Saddledam Rd.

Warwick District Court was told Allen got into a fight with the other man over the item, which escalated until Allen returned to his car to retrieve a gun.

Crown prosecutor Bernard Berger said Deighton was fuelling her husband’s anger as the pair walked from their van to the other man’s caravan, telling Allen he was a “weak c —t” and he “had to do something about this”.

Mr Berger said others at the campsite warned the men that Allen had a gun concealed in the material he was carrying, which he then withdrew and pointed at the pair.

Monique Sarah Deighton. Picture: Facebook / social media

“(Allen) then threatened to shoot the complainant and his hand was shaking at this moment,” he said.

Mr Berger said both men told the then-25-year-old Allen to “shoot (them) if he was going to”, to which he responded by pulling the trigger and shooting one of the men in his left thigh.

“(Allen) was wrestled to the ground and Ms Deighton threw herself into the scuffle, punching the other male in the left eye and was subject to a punch in the head herself,” he said.

“There were children in the car at that very moment, and this all took place in a caravan park where there were members of the public.”

The court was told the shooting victim was first taken to Warwick Hospital and then transferred to Toowoomba Base Hospital for treatment, while the other man was left with facial bruising.

Deighton and Allen fled the scene in their car when police were called, and when officers caught up with them later that night Deighton claimed she was completely unaware her husband had a gun.

The 38-year-old appeared in court via videolink from jail, where she was currently serving part of a five-year sentence for trafficking meth and marijuana across the Warwick area.

She was charged and taken into custody in relation to the Leslie Dam shooting in November 2020, about a week after Allen’s arrest.

Defence barrister Jessica Goldie said Deighton’s role in the violent offending was largely driven by her drug use and fear of her husband, who is understood to have died in jail.

“The things she told police were true in that she was terrified of (Allen) and experienced a lot of violence at his hands,” she said.

Ms Goldie added that her client had since completed counselling and several drug rehabilitation programs in an effort to create a better life for herself and her children upon her release.

“One of the big impacts for Ms Deighton since going into custody has been the loss of her children,” she said.

“What she realises is she needs to put her children ahead of any relationship and stay away from any drugs moving forward.”

Judge Nathan Jarro acknowledged Deighton’s recent rehabilitation progress, but slammed her encouragement of her husband’s violent conduct while in a public venue and on bail for the drug trafficking charges.

“They’re also serious because you encouraged your late husband to commit these sorts of terrible and violent crimes in the presence of your children,” he said.

“That should be in the forefront of your mind the next time you go on to potentially commit any further offending.”

Deighton pleaded guilty to one count each of wounding, dangerous conduct with a weapon, and possessing shortened firearms.

She was sentenced to 12 months’ jail, but will maintain her existing parole eligibility date on May 3.