Scott Jongmin chased crowd into Wadeye Local Court in lead-up to ‘spiteful’ riots

Territorians in a town ‘scared witless’ by destruction and riots were forced to shelter in a courthouse as man carrying an axe chased them.

A crowd of terrified Wadeye residents raced into the local courthouse after being chased by a man with an axe.

Scott Jongmin, 24, appeared in Darwin Local Court on Thursday to plead guilty to being armed in public in the lead up to the Wadeye riots.

The court heard Jongmin and a friend were roaming the streets armed with tomahawk axes on December 7, 2021.

Prosecutors said there were 40 to 50 men, women and children on the street when the armed duo appeared.

Wielding his axe, Jongmin chased them to the Wadeye Courthouse, which was still in session.

“They entered the courtroom seeking safety, the doors shut and held together by staff members,” a prosecutor said.

She said the entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras, however defence barrister Simon Lipert said no footage had been provided to him.

Mr Lipert said while the charge was not contested, he had not seen evidence to support the prosecution’s crowd size claims.

Judge Richard Wallace said the events in the lead- up to the “disastrous” Wadeye riots “were completely out of hand”.

“They were happening frequently and it became more spiteful and destructive than ever before,” Mr Wallace said.

“In the course of a few months many houses were really badly damaged, some were completely destroyed and had to be knocked down and started from scratch.”

He said many innocent people in Wadeye were “scared witless” by the destruction, with many too terrified to return home.

Mr Wallace said while Jongmin was not a central perpetrator, he had added to the terror.

“You were going to add to the general fear and disorder that has plagued that community for many months now,” he said.

Mr Lipert said an “anomaly” of the courts meant this single charge was separated from later offending.

Jongmin was previously sentenced to a nine months suspended sentence for breaches of a domestic violence order, possessing an offensive weapon, damaging property and assault of a worker.

“This offending should have been raised...This could have been dealt with in totality.”” Mr Lipert said.

“The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”

Mr Wallace said Jongmin had served 166 days in custody and did not want the 24-year-old to “be held any longer than he needs to be”.

Mr Wallace sentenced him to three months in prison, backdated to July and already served.

“Good luck to you when you are let out because Port Keats is still not a quiet place,” he said.

“Whether you’re living there or Peppimenarti it’s going to be hard to stay out of trouble, but that is what you have to do.”

Originally published as Scott Jongmin chased crowd into Wadeye Local Court in lead-up to ‘spiteful’ riots