Mitimale Malama jailed after shooting into car in Mount Isa

A 25-year-old father has been sentenced in an Ipswich court after he fired a gun into a car, with a bullet narrowly missing an occupant’s head.

Mitimale Malama outside the Ipswich courthouse on July 25, 2024. Picture: Grace Koo

A young dad has been jailed after he nearly shot a man dead following a dramatic car chase in northwest Queensland.

Mitimale Malama, 25, of Redbank, pleaded guilty on February 15 to a string of charges including one count of burglary at night while armed or in company and one count of threatening violence to discharge firearms at night.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a category C weapon to commit an indictable offence.

He reappeared in Ipswich District Court on July 25 for sentence.

Crown prosecutor Connor Lovett said an alleged co-offender arranged for the then 22-year-old and another co-offender to rob the victim on the night of November 18, 2022, months after a money issue in relation to a car accident.

He said two of them went to the victim’s residence in Mount Isa.

“Malama demanded he come outside, at which point the complainant noticed that he had a firearm concealed,” Mr Lovett said.

“The complainant slammed the door shut and yelled out to his partner to call the police.”

He said the two heard that the victim was arming himself so they left in a car before they were chased.

“He (the co-offender) tried to do a U-turn, which resulted in him crashing into a parked car and coming to a stop,” he said.

“The defendant hopped out of the car with a rifle aimed at the complainant’s car and discharged it.

“The bullet smashed through the front window and narrowly missed the complainant’s head and shattered the windshield completely.

“It was fortunate that he managed to duck in time.”

He said Malama returned to the car and fled the scene.

The chase came to an end when the two abandoned their car and ran off, he said.

Mr Lovett said Malama was initially charged with attempted murder, but that was downgraded before a committal hearing to a charge of threatening violence at night.

The co-offender previously was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.

Mitimale Malama outside the Ipswich courthouse on July 25, 2024, Thursday. Picture: Grace Koo

Malama, who represented himself in court, said he was the youngest in the group and was influenced by them.

The New Zealand-born man told the court he came to Australia when he was four.

He also said he had a job for a full year and planned to continue working upon release to support his wife and his child.

He was on a temporary visa, the court heard.

Judge Benedict Power said Malama was armed with a .22 calibre self-loaded, shortened rim-fire rifle that was 38cm in length.

“When you were 22 years old, you did something unbelievably crazy,” he said.

“It is unclear who put this idea into action.

“But that entrance into a house whilst armed and in company is very serious.

“The act of firing the firearm is charged as threatening violence and caused the person to have fear of bodily harm, which it obviously did.

“The act was incredibly dangerous and regardless of any minimum penalty, it would have to have resulted in a term of actual imprisonment.”

Mr Power sentenced him to two years’ jail, suspended after 18 months for two years.

He noted Malama had served 164 days in custody from December 2, 2020 to May 14, 2021.

Malama faced a risk of deportation under the Commonwealth migration law, he said.

His family, who attended court, became emotional as they watched him walk towards the watchhouse and as he waved at them.