Craig Levick out on parole after threatening neighbour with knife, entering guilty plea

An emotional day-long court hearing has ended in Craig Levick being released on parole.

A 48-year-old man with an extensive criminal history has been released on parole after being found guilty of threatening his neighbour with a knife after a mailbox incident.

Craig Levick spent an emotional day in Port Macquarie local court this week, where he was convicted and sentenced by Magistrate Georgina Darcy.

He appeared from behind the glass of the prisoner’s dock, in the custody of police, for an incident that occurred between Levick and his upstairs neighbour earlier this year.

About 9am on Saturday, January 29, the victim heard Levick yelling and screaming from his Bridge St unit.

The court heard he had reported Levick to the Department of Housing before, but told the court this instance was especially bad and that he hadn’t slept in three days as a result of the noise.

Ignoring Levick at the time, the victim went about his business, walking out to his mailbox at about 3.30pm

He found the mailbox full of biscuits and attended Levick’s unit, assuming he put the food there, to talk about it.

The court was told the pair engaged in a verbal argument, in which Levick falsely accused the victim of being a “fat paedophile” and made several remarks about his mother.

A nearby neighbour heard the argument and stepped in.

The anonymous woman told the upstairs neighbour “don’t do anything, just go away”, before he began walking back up the stairs to his unit.

The victim heard Levick briefly return to his home, coming back out as the upstairs neighbour was walking away.

Levick and the witnesses were residing in the Bridge St units in Port Macquarie when the argument arose.

The victim turned around and saw Levick holding a knife with a silver blade.

Appearing as a witness in court for the hearing, he told the magistrate that Levick threatened him with the knife, telling his neighbour “I’m going to f*****g kill you”.

The victim, fearing for his life, returned to his own unit where he contacted police and reported the incident.

The other neighbour, who stepped in to break up the fight, also called 000 to report the incident.

In a recording of her call to emergency services, the court heard the witness say she didn’t want to get involved in the matter as she knows both men, but believes Levick was on drugs at the time of the incident.

“I’ve seen the good side of him (Levick), and I’ve seen the scary side of him – I just think he needs (mental) help,” the woman told the operator.

“He’s a decent person and, if he can get help, that’d be great.

“(The victim) has put up with it for too long and I think it just reached breaking point.”

Police attended the units soon after, where Levick was arrested and charged with one count of armed with intent to commit indictable offence and one count of stalk/intimidate intending fear/harm.

The second charge has since been dropped and Levick pleaded not guilty to the initial offence.

As well as the recorded triple zero call, Ms Darcy heard evidence in the form of eyewitness accounts from the victim and Port Macqaurie Police Senior Constable Stephen Martin, a letter from the anonymous female neighbour, a character reference from a woman supporting him in court, and footage from the arresting officer’s body-worn camera.

In a dramatic turn of events, Levick changed his plea mid-hearing on Tuesday.

It wasn’t until after the lunchtime adjournment that Levick decided to plead guilty.

“I just want to get out so I can take care of my dog,” he sobbed.

Overcome by emotions, Levick disrupted the court several times, once begging they let him sign his dog over to the woman who was supporting him from the audience.

Part of his defence, Levick’s “unpredictable” nature – as described by SCon Martin – and severe mental health problems, was demonstrated in these erratic outbursts.

The offender’s lawyer, Matthew Lindeman, also argued that his client never made a direct threat to harm the victim.

Lindeman submitted that, rather than the death threat, Levick actually yelled “come on c**t” at his upstairs neighbour.

Ms Darcy considered the evidence, including Levick’s mental health background and troubled past, the uncertainty around the threat, and the offender’s criminal record – which dates back to the children’s court in 1989.

She referenced the anonymous witness’s evidence, saying she seems to be “quite a sensible woman”.

“(The woman) appears to be more of a neutral witness,” Ms Darcy reasoned.

“And she didn’t hear the death threat, so I cannot be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the threat to kill was made (by Levick).

Ms Darcy said she accepts Levick’s underlying mental health issues, and acknowledges that the character reference supports the anonymous witness’s description of her neighbour.

“He’s capable of being a pleasant and nice person, on this occasion he wasn’t,” Ms Darcy said.

“You’ve had a somewhat troubled background but gaps in record – when you’re doing the right thing – show you can lead a lawful life.

“There can never be any excuse for you picking up a weapon.”

Ms Darcy finalised an AVO between Levick and the victim, before convicting and sentencing Levick to a term of imprisonment of seven months with a non-parole period of two months.

The sentence was backdated to the time of the offence, meaning Levick was to be released on parole this week.

“Thank you, your honour, I wasn’t expecting that,” an overjoyed Levick said.

“I get to see my dog!”