Michael Shillingsworth pleads guilty to extortion, burglary and serious assault
In a “siege-like” incident, a man guilty of burglary and extortion hurled poo at officers who were trying to calm him down.
A Toowoomba man who hurled human waste at police officers during a watch-house siege has apologised for his “vile” acts.
Michael James Shillingsworth, 46, pleaded guilty before Toowoomba District Court on November 5 to extortion, burglary in the night and three counts of serious assault against an authorised officer.
Minutes prior to sentencing, Shillingsworth dramatically fired his legal counsel in open court, disagreeing over issues with the details of the offence, before re-engaging them shortly ahead of proceedings.
The court heard Shillingsworth sent a series of threatening messages to another man, demanding money he believed he was owed.
Just over a week later, the man woke up to discover Shillingsworth screaming at him at one in the morning; telling police he felt scared and intimated, the man handed over $500.
Separately, crown prosecutor Hamish McIntyre said Shillingsworth, while under watch-house guard, barricaded himself in a room where he defecated and urinated into a bowl, threatening to spray three officers if they entered.
“It seems something akin to a siege situation,” Mr McIntyre said.
“It is, to be frank, vile offending.”
The court heard Shillingsworth was in a severely impacted mental state and under the influence of prescription medication after hearing disturbing news regarding his family.
Failing to reason with Shillingsworth, one officer deployed capsicum spray before they and two other officers entered the room.
He then hurled the contents of the bowl at the officers, hitting one in the face, another on the forearms and the third on his pants and boots.
Shillingsworth told the court he barely remembered the assault, adding he felt “sick to his stomach” when he heard what he had done.
His solicitor Hamish Chapman said his client had suffered through an incredibly traumatic childhood which had coloured his consistent and repeated offending in adult life.
Mr Chapman argued Shillingsworth “wasn’t in the right mind” while committing the serious assaults, citing his deprived background made it hard for him to live a normal life.
“Mr Shillingsworth’s background is so disadvantaged … his moral culpability is perhaps lessened,” Mr Chapman said.
“His position is such, by his instructions, he is too old for this kind of stuff.
“He is hoping to divorce himself from the custodial system, to do that he needs to pay his dues.”
Mr Chapman argued against parole supervision as Shillingsworth lacked support and housing in Queensland, adding Shillingsworth had prospects interstate and would be more likely to rehabilitate under a suspended sentence.
Judge Sarah Farnden KC, with “some reservations”, suspended Shillingsworth sentence due to his poor prospects on parole.
“You yourself said to me this morning you have some difficulty living in society,” she said.
“Ultimately it’s only going to be you that can bring an end to your cycle of offending.”
He was sentenced to a wholly suspended term of four years imprisonment for an operational period of four years.
A total of 869 days of pre-sentence custody was declared time served under the sentence.
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Originally published as Michael Shillingsworth pleads guilty to extortion, burglary and serious assault
