Man pleads guilty to Bongaree knife rampage

A concreter kept coming at police while armed with a 35cm kitchen knife, urging them to shoot him during a horrifying ordeal north of Brisbane.

John Maxwell Williams today faced Caboolture Magistrates Court for coming at police while armed with a knife.

A concreter kept coming at police while armed with a 35cm kitchen knife, urging them to shoot him during a horrifying ordeal in Bongaree.

Caboolture Magistrates Court heard the police had been called to John Maxwell Matthews’ Bongaree home on September 22 when the incident unfolded.

The court heard Matthews, a 40-year-old father of two, was sitting on a front step when police arrived, and had the kitchen knife with him.

Matthews started walking towards police, holding the knife in front of him, telling police to “f*cking do it” as they drew their weapons.

“Shoot me,” Matthews told police.

The court heard Matthews, still armed, quickly walked towards them as police urged him to put the knife down.

Matthews eventually put the knife down and police tasered him twice, however both times proved ineffective.

Police then had to wrestle Matthews to the ground and arrest him.

Magistrate James Blanch heard Matthews was going through a difficult time when the events unfolded and was so remorseful about the fiasco he apologised to the officers involved.

He had also stopped drinking alcohol, started attending Alcoholics Anonymous and was addressing a mental condition.

“The police officers would have been terrified,” Magistrate Blanch said.

“You’re lucky your family … (didn’t have to) organise a funeral for you.

“Your only saving grace today is you have no history of a like matter, otherwise you’d be serving some form of imprisonment.”

He pleaded guilty to going armed in public to cause fear, two counts of obstructing police and wilful damage of a police car and was ordered to serve 36 months probation.

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