Nathaniel Richard Charles Fernando, 19, sentenced for violent burglary of expectant Toowoomba parents
Parents just week away from welcoming their first child faced a terrifying home invasion from two young criminals armed with a shotgun.
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A young man who invaded a Toowoomba couple’s home with a sawn-off shotgun in tow is set to be released before the new year.
Nathaniel Richard Charles Fernando, 19, pleaded guilty before a Toowoomba District Court to multiple offences relating to a 2023 home invasion of a Toowoomba couple’s home mere weeks before their baby was due to arrive.
Fernando, and a juvenile co-offender who cannot be identified, brought a loaded 0.22 calibre rifle along with intent to rob the unsuspecting couple.
The court heard the male occupant of the Meringandan West home had woken about 2am to discover Fernando and his co-offender rummaging through his wife’s handbag.
“(The man) gave chase and tackled the defendant,” Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said.
“The juvenile offender armed himself with a dining room chair and swung that chair at the complainant, hitting him in the head.
The man suffered a large gash to his head, requiring 11 stitches.
“The juvenile threatened to shoot the complainant and then yelled out to the defendant, Nathaniel, ‘get the gun’,” Ms Friedewald said.
Fernando instead ran out an open door and the pair fled.
No property was stolen but the gun was left behind.
Ms Friedewald said Fernando and his co-offender later bragged about the ordeal, sharing a news article detailing the offence.
She added the couple no longer felt safe in their own home and had the joy of their first pregnancy ripped away from them.
“Both the complainant and his wife were unable to sleep along in the house in the weeks after this,” she said.
“They should have been their happiest moments but now they are moments they cannot get back,” she said.
Barrister Daniel Boddice, instructed by Nathan Bouchier of Bouchier Khan Lawyers, argued further incarceration would threaten Fernando’s rehabilitation and lead the young man down an even darker path.
“There is an inherent risk to young people, in particular – a corrupting influence from more seasoned criminals they are exposed to in an adult custodial environment,” he said.
Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC ruled placing Fernando under a period of probation would provide greater community protection than a lengthy term of imprisonment.
“Notwithstanding seriousness of the crimes you’ve committed as a young man, one has to hold out hope for your future,” he said.
“Whilst the community will be protected from you if you simply stayed in jail, they will only be protected until the end of your jail term.
“You wouldn’t have had the benefit of some supervision upon your release.”
Fernando was formally charged with burglary by break in the night while armed and in company and attempted armed robbery in company with wounding.
He was sentenced to three years imprisonment with a fixed parole date of December 11, 2024.
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Originally published as Nathaniel Richard Charles Fernando, 19, sentenced for violent burglary of expectant Toowoomba parents
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