Ivanhoe woman dodges bullet, assaulted in front of children in series of sickening home attacks
A thug who threw an MP3 player at pregnant Ivanhoe woman before threatening to “put a bullet” in her head fled the scene when one of her kids pleaded with him to stop and a neighbour called police. But he returned after the cops left.
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A heroin-addled scumbag who fired a gun next to a heavily pregnant Ivanhoe woman’s head and targeted her in a series of sickening attacks has been jailed for six years.
Phi Nguyen, 40, pleaded guilty in the County Court on September 18 following the string of disturbing incidents which left his victim in “fear of her life” and battling post-traumatic stress disorder.
It comes after Nguyen’s threw an MP3 player at his victim’s face at her Ivanhoe home before threatening to shoot her if she didn’t stop screaming on January 19.
“(You said) I will crack your head open and put a bullet in your head,” Judge Patricia Riddell said.
One of the victim’s children pleaded with Nguyen to “please stop” before a concerned neighbour phoned 000.
Nguyen ran from the scene before police arrived but returned and continued his taunting when officers left.
He then became “enraged” when he discovered his terrified victim had secretly sent a text to her social worker pleading for help.
“I’m going to f****** kill you, I’m going to blow your brains out,” Nguyen told her.
The bleeding mother-of-four was forced to leave her children behind as she ran outside to find help before Heidelberg police officers organised crisis accommodation for her family.
The court also heard Nguyen asked the victim “what, you don’t think I’m going to shoot you?” before firing a handgun next to her head when she was eight months pregnant with her fourth child in June 2017.
The victim had been too scared to tell police of the gunshot incident until deciding to tell all following the January ordeal.
Nguyen was arrested on January 23 with police uncovering 17 counterfeit $50 notes in his bedroom.
Officers returned to the Ivanhoe address and found a bullet hole in the plaster wall of the main bedroom, confirming the 2017 incident.
“Your behaviour had escalated to a point where she was terrorised daily,” Ms Riddell said.
“(The victim) now recognises she was in survival mode, avoiding anything that might provoke you.”
In a victim impact statement the terrified woman said the 2017 attack was “seared” in her mind and feared she would live “forever” with Nguyen terrorising her family.
Ms Riddell heard Nguyen was racially abused throughout his schooling years after migrating from Vietnam as a toddler and began using heroin as a teenager with his older brother.
“At 20 years old you found your brother dead from overdose … you still experience flashbacks,” Ms Riddell said.
She heard Nguyen had been jailed at least four times and had a lengthy criminal history relating to a plethora of charges including drug trafficking, aggravated burglary, home invasions, armed robbery and intentionally cause injury.
Nguyen pleaded guilty to numerous charges including two counts of make threat to kill as well as recklessly cause injury and possess counterfeit money.
“(The offending is) disgraceful behaviour … the prevalence with such offending coupled with the often devastating effect on victims means general deterrence, denunciation and community protection looms large in sentencing,” Ms Riddell said.
“(The victim) was a vulnerable woman at that time … you inflicted terror on her.”
Nguyen was jailed for six years and four months with a non-parole period of four years and 10 months.
brittany.goldsmith@news.com.au
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