Joseph Frank Luksa: Delahey electrician pulls shotgun during road rage incident

A Delahey electrician with serious road rage pulled a loaded shotgun on a cyclist then asked him to shape up.

A Delahey electrician with serious road rage pulled a shotgun on a cyclist shouting “you want to go mate”, a court has heard.

Joseph Frank Luksa appeared in Sunshine Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading guilty to a string of charges stemming from the attack.

The court heard Luksa aimed the loaded shotgun at the cyclist following an incident not detailed to the court.

He was outside his estranged brother’s home on March 18 at the time, when he called triple-0 fearing the place was being robbed.

“Unbeknown to you, your brother’s partner was living there,” a police prosecutor said.

He fled the premises but returned later, sitting in his parked car nearby armed with a shotgun.

Following an interaction with a cyclist, Luksa got out of the car and pointed the loaded weapon at him.

“Do you want to go mate?” he said. “Do you?”

The cyclist fled, but Luksa was arrested and charged with recklessly engaging in conduct by pointing a weapon, unlawful assault with a weapon and several firearm charges.

Defence lawyer Kyle McDonald argued the man, who works as an industrial electrician, should be sentenced without a conviction.

“This is his first occasion interacting with the courts,” he said.

“While it’s quite a leap into criminal jurisdiction, a psychological report indicates he poses a low risk of re-offending.”

He said the nature of the man’s work would lead to complications if convicted, adding the “spontaneous act” shouldn’t impact his career.

But Magistrate Amina Bhai said that narrative failed to take into account he had left the scene and later returned arming himself.

“You were clearly frustrated,” she said. ”But this was not a proportionate response.”

“You were entrusted with a licence to carry firearms and breached that trust by pointing that firearm at another person in a public place.”

She accepted he was remorseful for his actions and the incident was “out-of-character”, but added: “This would have been a frightening experience for the victim”.

Luksa was sentenced to a two year community corrections order with supervision and anger management classes and will have to complete 160 hours of community work.

Ms Bhai ordered the conviction recorded and Luksa will have to surrender his firearms to police.