Campbell Matthies and Jason Noorman in Mildura court after neighbourhood dispute

A neighbourhood dispute has landed a Mildura couple in court after trying to uncover who left their cars with $42k in damages from a paint spill.

A neighbourhood dispute has landed Mildura couple Campbell Matthies and Jason Noorman in court over a phone call made to try and discover who had been targeting their cars and business.

Quarrelling neighbours have landed a Mildura couple in court after they tried to find out who tipped paint on their cars and defaced their shop window.

Campbell Matthies, 51, and Jason Norman both pleaded guilty in Mildura Magistrates’ Court on December 6 to one charge of using a carriage service to harass.

The Mildura couple have a second residence in Rainbow, where an ongoing fallout with a neighbour turned nasty following a targeted incident on the couple’s business.

The court heard Mr Noorman and Mr Matthies had begun a friendship with a nearby neighbour to their Rainbow property in 2019, before falling out over an incident in a community group.

The dispute turned legal when both the couple and their neighbour filed for restraining orders against each other.

The court heard the orders were to last for three years and came to an end earlier this year, after which the couple had a ‘for sale’ poster plastered to the front window of their business in Rainbow, and their cars covered in paint, leaving them with a $42,000 bill to fix them.

Mr Noorman and Mr Matthies’ lawyer Ali Besiroglu told the court the couple found the timing of the posters strange, fearing they had been targeted by their clashing neighbour.

Mildura couple Campbell Matthies and Jason Noorman pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to harass after a neighbourhood feud went too far.

The court heard Mr Noorman had rung the neighbour to ask her about the poster, however after he identified himself, she hung up and immediately contacted police asking for a renewal of the restraining order.

After further back and forth with Mr Matthies, the neighbour rang the police and the couple were subsequently arrested and their tech devices were seized.

An analysis of their mobile phones showed messages from Mr Matthies, questioning whether they had to go through the court again.

The court heard the neighbour claimed contact from the couple had caused a significant deterioration in her mental health.

Mr Besiroglu said the messages were “not aggressive”, the couple just wanted to make sure they weren’t being targeted by that neighbour.

“It seemed strange to them that shortly after the intervention order finished, there was a ‘for sale’ sign on their shopfront window,” he said.

“This coupled with the damage to their cars was also a concern for them.”

Magistrate Patrick Southey noted the pair having no criminal history in his sentence.

Mr Noorman and Mr Matthies were sentenced to a 12 month good behaviour bond without conviction.