Jerome Tyrone Connor faces Coffs court after terrifying machete, ziptie threat

A woman was so terrified of her partner she almost passed out when summoned to a room – to see him holding zipties. Here’s how the courts dealt with the “mind boggling” offending.

Jerome Tyrone Connors, 31, faced Coffs Harbour Local Court on Tuesday November 29, when he was sentenced on a raft of charges, including stalk or intimidate and receive/dispose of stolen property.

A woman was so scared of her partner she almost passed out when called to a room – and spotted him holding zipties with a 50cm-long machete on a nearby table.

The man – who has a significant history of violence and weapon offences – gestured for the victim to sit in a chair as he moved toward her with the cable ties.

At that moment, she bolted – running upstairs in her Toormina home and later telling police she was so afraid she “nearly fainted”.

Jerome Tyrone Connors, 31, faced Coffs Harbour Local Court on Tuesday.

He was sentenced on a raft of charges, including stalk or intimidate and receive/dispose of stolen property.

The incident involving the zipties at 10.30am on August 21 was committed while Connors was in breach of bail, according to court documents.

Connors held zipties as he gestured for the victim to sit in a chair.

Barely a month earlier, Connors came to police attention when they spotted a black Mitsubishi 380 headed north on Hogbin Dr with a faulty tail light.

Checks revealed the number plate was registered to a blue Ford Falcon, and the plate listed as stolen.

The Mitsubishi was tailed until it parked in Beryl St – bang outside the police station.

Connors parked the suspicious Mitsubishi 380 right out front of the Coffs Harbour Police Station.

As officers approached, they noticed the front plate differed from the rear one.

A check of the vehicle identification number (VIN) revealed the car had been stolen from Toormina Place, Coffs Harbour on June 20.

Connors told police he had seen the Mitsubishi advertised on Facebook Marketplace for “free”, but offered the vendor $300, according to police facts.

Marcia Street, Coffs Harbour. Picture: Google

He told officers he knew the seller only as “Goggles”, and that he lived somewhere on Marcia St.

Connors appeared at Coffs court via audiovisual link from Clarence Correctional Centre.

Defence lawyer Jesse Sinclair said his client suffered a “chaotic” upbringing.

Mr Sinclair said Connors had mental health issues and started using ice – up to a gram a day – when he was 21.

Magistrate Ian Rodgers said Connors had a “mind boggling” criminal history for a relatively young man.

He recognised Connors had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and observed his ice habit of a gram a day was “an incredible amount”.

As well as the stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm (domestic), Connors was before the court on charges of receive/dispose stolen property, drive motor vehicle during disqualification period – 2nd offence, shoplifting and two counts of contravene prohibition/restriction in apprehended violence order (domestic).

Mr Rodgers convicted Connors and gave him an aggregate prison sentence of 18 months with a non-parole period of 12 months.