Jason Stewart, 31, sentenced after threatening grandmother at Woolgoolga, drug dealing crimes

A North Coast drug dealer who threatened to shoot a grandma, leaving her unable to sleep at home alone, was phone tapped by police and has now dodged further time behind bars.

Jason Stewart leaving Grafton Local Court on April 15.

A magistrate has lashed a convicted drug dealer’s “truly despicable” behaviour after he threatened to shoot a grandmother recovering from surgeries and a stroke.

Grafton man Jason Stewart, who is also listed on court documents as living in Aldavilla on the Mid-North Coast, fronted Grafton Local Court on Monday.

The 31-year-old pleaded guilty to intimidation.

Jason Stewart.

Stewart has a lengthy criminal record and previously spent time in custody.

Last year, he was sentenced to a lengthy community-based jail term after police monitored calls and texts revealed he was a major drug dealer in the Clarence and Coffs regions.

He also copped a bullet in the shoulder when he attempted to flee from police in April 2022.

Jason Stewart outside Lismore Local Court in 2023.

Stewart’s “despicable” act towards the elderly woman was uncovered when police intercepted his calls, the court heard.

The victim lived alone at Woolgoolga, near Coffs Harbour, and was recovering from recent surgeries and a stroke when Steward visited her home on December 12, 2021.

Stewart was looking for the victim’s son as well as a car he believed the son had in his possession.

The victim explained she was estranged from her son, but nevertheless Stewart returned on December 19 and acted “hostile and menacing”.

He said: “I am licensed to carry a firearm and I am prepared to use it.”

Police state Stewart then “reached under his jacket and tapped on an obvious bulge in his beltline”.

Stewart threatened: ‘If (your son) loves you at all and doesn’t want to see anything happen to you, you have 24 hours to get the car here.”

Stewart made “a gun-like gesture” with his hands and mimicked shots being fired.

Before he sped off in a white Jaguar, his final words were: “I mean business. I’ll be back in 24 hours.”

Jason Stewart leaving Grafton Local Court.

The victim went to police and gave them notes, but officers’ response was “delayed due to competing priorities,” the court heard.

Court documents state the victim no longer feels safe in her own home and sleeps at friends’ homes if she is alone at night. She also suffers from anxiety in the wake of the incident.

Charges were laid after phone taps revealed Stewart talking about the incident.

In one intercept, Stewart was sent a series of home addresses in the Coffs and Clarence regions with instructions such as “They have firearms there” and “Don’t chuch (sic) a fuss here I need their statement – just drive past,” a court heard.

In another, Stewart discusses threatening the grandmother: “I said you’ve got 24 hours or me and my mates are coming back … I don’t like hurting people but this is how it’s going to be.”

Jason Stewart spent time in custody.

In court, the defence said Stewart was “taking steps towards rehabilitation” and started living with his stepfather in a more stable environment.

Magistrate Annette Sinclair described the offending as “truly despicable”.

Stewart has since spent time in custody in relation to separate matters. He has also completed a lengthy program in residential rehab, the court heard.

Ms Sinclair said Stewart’s efforts to combat drug addiction and repair family bonds were “positive” steps.

He was convicted, fined $1000 and sentenced to a 12-month community correction order.