Brendan Woods jailed after ramming car into Todd Tavern

The man who rammed his car into a tavern then poured gasoline over himself has been jailed. SEE THE VIDEO.

A MAN who rammed his car into the Todd Tavern after an argument, then poured gasoline over himself has been jailed for five years.

Brendan Woods, 34, was sentenced to five years and one month behind bars after he was found guilty in the Alice Springs Supreme Court for unlawful assault, causing damage to property and recklessly endangering serious harm.

Woods was additionally sentenced for three summary charges transmitted from the Local Court which were driving with a medium range blood-alcohol content while being the holder of a learner’s permit, driving an unregistered motor vehicle, and driving without a current compensation contribution.

The court heard that in the early hours of August 19, 2021, Woods was drinking alcohol extensively before he drove to the Leichhardt Tce carpark near the Todd Tavern at 10.40am.

While waiting in line to enter the pub’s Riverside Bar, an argument broke out and Woods was denied entry.

Woods then jumped into the driver’s seat of the unregistered Ford Falcon and drove up Leichhardt Tce, mounting the curb behind the Alice Springs cinema.

The learner driver sped towards the bar entrance, causing a staff member to seek cover inside the tavern with about 30 other people.

The vehicle hit the entrance to the Riverside Bar, causing almost $50,000 in damage to the brickwork and demolishing the entry to the tavern.

Woods then reversed, before ramming the bar again, causing the Falcon to get stuck.

The 34-year-old then went into the tavern and threw a Besser brick and a wheelie bin at someone inside.

Outside the bar, Woods removed a jerry can full of petrol from the boot and poured it over himself.

An individual near Woods heard him say, “I’ll show you what a real mad person do.”

Police arrested him in the Kmart carpark at 11.30am.

After being taken to the Alice Springs Hospital with clothes soaked in petrol, Woods was found to have a BAC of 0.122.

Woods was found guilty and sentenced to five years and one month in jail, backdated to August 19, 2021, with a non-parole period of three years.

He was also disqualified from obtaining a licence for a period of five years and ordered to pay almost $10,000 in compensation to the owners of the Todd Tavern.