Shane Gregory Smith threatened to behead woman, set Lismore house ablaze
A samurai sword owner threatened to chop a woman’s head off and set fire to his former partner’s home, less than two years after he tried to burn down a Lismore councillor’s door.
Police & Courts
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A samurai sword owner threatened to “chop” a woman’s head off and set fire to his former partner’s home, less than two years after he tried to burn down a Lismore councillor’s door.
Shane Gregory Smith faced Lismore Local Court via video link from custody on Wednesday, when he pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault and intimidation.
Court documents state the 56-year-old Lismore man’s former partner caught him intoxicated behind her home about 9pm on December 23 last year.
When the woman asked him to leave, police facts state Smith threatened to set the woman’s house ablaze.
“There is fuel underneath your house,” he said.
“You’ve got two weeks and I’m going to burn your house down.”
Smith then threatened to chop off the head of another woman, who was also present.
In court documents, police said this made that person feel unsafe because she was aware he owned a samurai sword.
Smith was asked to leave again when he walked to the front of the property but he instead threw an animal cage at his ex-partner, hitting her.
He then pushed her over.
His ex-partner armed herself with a broom handle in self-defence while he continued yelling and “ranting”, police state.
Police arrived and found Smith intoxicated and sweating.
Officers state he is homeless and has been charged numerous times in the past with breaching apprehended violence orders and intimidation, as well as damaging property by fire.
“This is concerning because he threatened to burn down the victim’s house,” police state in court documents.
Smith’s lawyer, Binnie O’Dwyer, told the court her client may have a head injury or intellectual disability.
Magistrate Michael Dakin ordered a sentence assessment report and adjourned the case to February 24, with Smith to remain behind bars on remand in the interim.
Smith’s latest case follows him being jailed for trying to burn down Lismore councillor Big Rob’s door and threatening to kill him over a Facebook stoush in 2023.
He was sentenced over that incident to a year in prison, with a nine-month non-parole period expiring in August 2024.
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