Two teenagers have been jailed following a home invasion and stabbing
Two promising Brisbane teenagers – one a former private school student – who invaded a northside home and stabbed a man with a kitchen knife, leaving a 15cm wound, have been jailed.
Two teenagers, including a former private school student, who invaded a home and stabbed the occupant have been jailed.
Emmanuel Kenya Maduk, 19, and Kelvin James Deng, 20, were both 18 when they entered a share-house at Everton Hills and attacked a 26-year-old man with a knife on August 5, 2023.
Maduk and Deng arrived outside the home under the influence of alcohol and Xanax to pick up a friend from a party, however entered the house after she couldn’t find her phone, Brisbane’s District Court heard on Thursday.
They were carrying knives from Deng’s mother’s car, and caused a commotion while searching for the phone.
When a man confronted them in the hallway and told them to “get out,” Maduk stabbed him in the shoulder with a kitchen knife.
He threatened to “come back and do worse” while being held back by others, the court heard.
Maduk and Deng both pleaded guilty to one count each of wounding and entering dwelling with intent at night to use violence whilst armed in company.
Judge Paul Smith said it was a “stupid mistake” and a “real shame” the two men, who had no criminal history, committed the crime, given their promising futures.
The victim sustained a 15cm wound to the back of his shoulder, which penetrated connective tissue but not muscle, requiring 14 stitches. He made a full recovery.
In a victim impact statement, he said the incident has had a lasting impact on his mental health and finances, given his family does not live in Australia.
The court heard Deng’s mother fled South Sudan in the early 2000s, before becoming a nurse and sending her son to private school.
Deng, a former St Francis College student, wished to enrol at university to complete a degree in business and real estate, with the hopes of becoming a real estate agent.
His barrister Bri McKenzie said that the knives were in the car as Deng’s mother had recently attended a BBQ and “there were some utensils left in there”.
Judge Smith remarked that it sounded a “little unlikely”.
“Were they in a picnic basket,” he asked.
Ms McKenzie said her client was “incredibly remorseful”.
“He feels confronted by seeing the level of the injuries sustained by the complainant,” she said.
Maduk’s barrister Nick McGhee said his client began using alcohol and drugs as a teenager, and had been diagnosed with ADHD. He hoped to attend university and work in the area of drug prevention and pharmacology. Mr McGhee said it was not a premeditated home invasion, which Judge Smith accepted.
Maduk was sentenced to three years’ jail to be suspended after seven months while Deng, who was charged as a party to the wounding and did not inflict any actual violence, was sentenced to two years to be suspended after serving three months.
Judge Smith said the sentences took into account the men’s early plea, young age, remorse, and Deng’s abstinence from illicit drugs or alcohol since offending.
“These are serious offences,” he said.
“Penalty deterrents need to be imposed to stop home invasions, particularly with people armed with knives and the offending needs to be denounced.”
