Bilboe brothers, Steven Firmin spared jail after meat cleaver home invasion
A trio of young Illawarra men - including two brothers - have been spared jail time after carrying out a violent, armed home invasion, sparked by a disagreement over the sale of a Samsung Galaxy.
Illawarra Star
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Three young men have been spared jail time after carrying out a violent, armed home invasion, sparked by a disagreement over the sale of a mobile phone.
Brothers Nicholas and Benjamin Bilboe and friend Steven Firmin appeared in Wollongong District Court for sentencing on Thursday, after “misguided mateship” landed them in the hands of the law.
The Bilboe brothers and their mate Firmin were charged in 2017 after they forced their way into the Mangerton home of Jayden Thorton-Eddy and intimidated him with a meat cleaver, triggering a bloody fight.
According to court documents, the altercation was sparked by the sale of a Samsung Galaxy.
Firmin sold the phone to Thornton-Eddy in mid-2017, with a sum of $80 exchanged. But, the court heard Firmin “legitimately believed” he was owed more money and attended Thorton-Eddy’s Myuna Way home on October 7, 2017 to discuss the terms of the sale.
The discussion quickly turned into an argument, with Thorton-Eddy telling Firmin to leave his home. However, just 20 minutes later, Firmin returned, this time with the Bilboe brothers by his side.
The trio forced their way into Thorton-Eddy’s home, with Benjamin hiding a meat cleaver down the back of his pants. Once inside, the three young men confronted Thornton-Eddy in his bedroom, demanding he pay Firmin more money or return the phone.
A fight between the Bilboe brothers and Thorton-Eddy broke out, leaving Benjamin with a deep laceration to his back, Nicholas with small lacerations to his hands and Thorton-Eddy with several small lacerations to the back of his head. The Crown could not prove who started the altercation, or whether the brothers were acting in self-defence.
The Bilboe brothers attended Wollongong Hospital together later that day, and Nicholas was admitted for a period of five days due to the seriousness of his injuries, Thorton-Eddy also attended the hospital, sparking a police investigation into the incident.
As a result, each member of the trio was charged with aggravated enter dwelling with intent to intimidate and had been due to stand trial in Wollongong District Court in March. However, each of them entered last minute guilty pleas in a deal with prosecutors.
During their sentencing on Thursday, each of the men’s defence lawyers argued against jail time, stating they were all from disadvantaged and dysfunctional backgrounds.
The court heard Nicholas had goals of becoming a master builder and had just completed an employability training course, while Firmin was about to become a father for the first time.
Benjamin, however, is currently in police custody after breaching the conditions of an AVO.
During the appearance, Nicholas accepted responsibility for his role in the situation and said he wanted to take his life in a new direction.
“I’m sorry about what I’ve done,” he said. “I hope never to come back here and I hope to have a better future.”
In considering Nicholas’ sentence Judge Andrew Haesler said the young man had nothing to gain from the offence, and that his role was a result of his co-dependency and closeness with his brother.
“He put his desire to help a friend above common sense,” he said. “He had few resources to draw on when thinking through such a serious criminal offence.”
Judge Haesler said following the offence, Firmin was learning how to lead a “normal community life”.
“He has an appalling background of constant deprivation as a child,” he said.
“With appropriate support he is learning to lead an appropriate community life and he needs to think about his future as a father.”
As Benjamin was the one to conceal the meat cleaver in his pants, Judge Haesler said his punishment needed to be greater than that of his brother and friend.
Despite the seriousness of the offences, Judge Haesler said imprisonment was not the best means of punishment for the young men.
“If any thought had gone into the matter the risk of escalation should have been obvious,” he said.
“But youthful offenders should not, if possible, be put down the path of custody.
“They’ve each showed signs the corner may be turned and their futures are important.”
As a result, each of the men was spared jail time.
Nicholas was placed on a 12-month conditional release order subject to supervision, Firmin was placed on an 18-month community corrections order subject to supervision, and Benjamin was placed on a two-year community corrections order subject to supervision.
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