Kane Ihaka, Joshua Ihaka: Brothers storm Kurunjang home with axe

Meathead brothers who stormed a Kurunjang home — where two toddlers were — with an axe and a metal pole have learnt their fate.

Kane Ihaka stormed into the home and swung an axe around.

A pair of thug brothers who stormed a family home, wielding an axe and metal pole, and yelled terrifying threats as two distressed toddlers watched on, have been jailed.

Kane Ihaka, 31, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 months’ jail before the County Court on Friday, having pleaded guilty to charges including aggravated burglary and criminal damage.

Kane committed the home invasion with his younger brother, Joshua Ihaka, 24, who was also sentenced to a minimum of 20 months’ jail after pleading guilty to charges including aggravated burglary, about 8.40pm on February 20, 2020.

Kane was armed with an axe and Joshua wielded a metal pole as the pair approached the Kurunjang house, with one yelling to one of the men inside, “Come out here, you little c*nt”.

Kane Ihaka took an axe to the home.

Kane Ihaka has not been in jail before.

Kane smashed a front window with the axe before the pair stormed into the house.

Inside Kane waved the axe around and yelled at the two men inside, “I’m going to f*cking kill you”, “I’m going to kill you all”.

The court heard 18-month-old twins were also in the house and screamed throughout the ordeal.

Joshua then suggested the pair leave and Kane told the victims, “I’m coming back,” and continued to scream about killing everyone.

The pair left in their vehicle and went back to Kane’s Melton West home.

Joshua was arrested at his parent’s Bacchus Marsh home the next day and police found a text on his phone saying, “Me and Kane ran through this bitch’s house trying to get them”.

Kane turned himself in to police after police requested he present to a police station.

Kabe told officers he had wanted revenge.

The court heard the two victims had approached Joshua in a nearby park hours before the home invasion and punched him repeatedly.

The brothers fronted the court by videolink from Fulham, having both spent more than 480 days on remand.

The court heard it was Kane’s first time in custody and that he had a very limited criminal record and a solid work ethic.

It was heard he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Kane’s lawyer argued his client had been acting to defend his brother, had desisted as soon as he realised children were present and had not injured anyone.

The court heard Joshua had only been released from prison onto a community corrections order days before the incident.

At the plea hearing, his lawyer told the court that the concreter had suffered learning difficulties that meant he was only partly literate, as well as poor mental health and a serious GHB and meth addiction.

Judge Wischusen had said the way the brothers had reacted “in a criminal way” to Joshua being beaten up was simply “unthinking behaviour”.

Judge Wishchusen said while Joshua had a much more serious criminal history, Kane had been the older more mature offender, who could have steered the events of the night in a much different direction after Joshua came home from the park.

The Judge ruled the pair deserved an equal sentence and that the defence’s push for a combination sentence would not accurately reflect the seriousness of the crimes.

Both men were sentenced to a maximum of two years’ and nine months’ jail, having already served 490 days’.