Elijah Nepia: Logan man in court for drunk, armed supermarket stand-off 

A young Logan furniture removalist has been given a stern warning to stay away from the booze after pulling a knife out and scaring supermarket shoppers when asked to stop loudly playing his music.

A young Logan furniture removalist has been given a stern warning to stay away from the booze after pulling a knife out and scaring supermarket shoppers in Woodridge when he was asked to stop loudly playing his music.

Slacks Creek man Elijah Nepia, 22, leaving Beenleigh courthouse

Elijah Nepia, 22, of Slacks Creek, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Thursday to 11 charges including two counts of going armed so as to cause fear, two counts of committing a public nuisance and one count of being drunk in a public place.

The court heard the Nepia drank a bottle of Jim Beam before getting into an incident where he pulled out a knife while shopping at the FoodWorks in Woodridge on August 24, 2021.

The 22-year-old, who represented himself in court, said he was drunk and became agitated after people approached him, including some who asked him to stop playing his music loudly.

Nepia said he had recently been evicted from his home before the incident and was anxious about the prospect of being “homeless and poor.”

The court heard Nepia was also allegedly caught driving while over the legal alcohol limit when he crashed a car into a gate along Giles Rd, Redland Bay on December 20, 2020.

He was an L-plate driver and police also charged him for not being under the direction of a person holding an open licence for at least one year.

Acting Magistrate D. Turner warned Nepia to stop drinking and start living up to his responsibilities.

“You strike me as quite a pleasant man, why are you here?” she said.

“No more drinking, no more running around scaring people with knives.

“That’s ridiculous.”

He was sentenced to a period of six months probation, fined $300 and disqualified from driving for three months. No conviction was recorded.