Jarrad Edward McIlroy gets into fight with neighbour after kitty litter thrown at door

A tradie will spend time in jail after a neighbourhood melee was sparked by some kitty litter. Find out what happened.

A tradie threatened to kill a neighbour and hit him with a bottle of vodka because he thought the man had thrown kitty litter at his door as part of an ongoing dispute.

Jarrad Edward McIlroy was heavily intoxicated when the incident took place at the High St, Southport unit complex on July 16 last year.

The former tiler told the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday: “I regret it. I took it the wrong way and should have dealt with it better.”

Jarrad Edward McIlroy threatened to kill his neighbour after kitty litter was thrown at his door. Picture: iStock

The 26-year-old pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed.

Magistrate Dzenita Balic sentenced him to 18 months’ prison with parole release on May 15. He has already served 136 days in custody.

“Your deliberate mechanism of hitting him across the head produced not an insignificant injury,” she said.

The victim was left with a cut which required supergluing together.

McIlroy also hit his neighbour with a bottle of vodka.

The incident was part of ongoing “bad blood” between McIlroy and his neighbour.

A few days before the fight, McIlroy came home to find cat litter had been thrown at his door.

On July 16 he saw his neighbour walking through the complex to go to the pharmacy.

McIlroy called out: “Oi, I’m going to kill you.”

He then left his house, with a vodka bottle in hand, and the pair began to wrestle.

During the wrestle, McIlroy hit his neighbour on the head with the vodka bottle.

McIlroy told the court via video link from prison: “It was just heat of the moment.”

Defence lawyer India Brady, of Bamberry Lawyers, said McIlroy had struggled with alcohol and cannabis problems.

She said he had worked as a rigger and a tiler and hoped to work as a tiler when released from prison.

Ms Brady said McIlroy had also been diagnosed with ADHD as a child.

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