Mareeba man Hayden Patrick Griffin, 39, sentenced for violent ambush of two men lured by drugs
A 39-year-old Mareeba man has been sentenced after he and an accomplice lured two men to a Tablelands property under the premise of a drug deal, which became a terrifying ambush where they were held hostage, threatened, robbed, beaten with a rifle, and shot at.
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A 39-year-old Mareeba man has been sentenced after he and an accomplice lured two men to a Tablelands property under the premise of a drug deal, which became a terrifying ambush where they were held hostage, threatened, robbed, beaten with a rifle, and shot at.
Hayden Patrick Griffin, now 39, appeared in Cairns District Court, pleading guilty to ten charges including deprivation of liberty, assault, and armed robbery.
Crown prosecutor Christian Peters told the court Griffin and his co-accused Anthony Enrico Cabassi, 28, lured the two men to Cabassi’s Arriga property under the guise of selling them drugs in the early hours of September 21, 2022.
Once the two men arrived at the property they were held at gun point, cable tied and submitted to a “terrifying hour-long ordeal”, all in the name of revenge for an allegedly stolen gun.
Mr Peters described the offending as a premeditated and sustained ambush, which was the brainchild of Griffin.
During the ordeal, both offenders were armed with firearms, one of which was described as a sawn-off rifle.
On arrival the two men were held at gunpoint with Griffin, wearing a cloth over his face, firing the rifle into the air and pointing it to the head of one of the men.
The men had their hands tied and they were led to a Nissan Patrol where they were tied to a bar connected to the car’s dash.
One of the men was struck with the butt of the rifle causing a laceration to his head and was struck again when Griffin thought he was trying to get out of his binds calling him a “little grub c**t”.
Cabassi then demanded money and removed $900 from the pocket of one of the men.
Griffin then interrogated the man about the missing gun, pointing the rifle at his kneecap before discharging the gun but not striking the man.
Mr Peters told the court Griffin then held the gun to the back of the head of the man and demanded he “get out of f*****g the car before I splatter your brains”, telling Cabassi “take this c**t out I’m going to bash his skull in”.
The two men were then cut free and threatened to not report the offending.
“As the two men drove away in their vehicle Mr Griffin then shot the rifle at the back of the car striking the rear right panel,” Mr Peters said.
Griffin’s defence counsel James Sheridan told the court Griffin had an absence of violent offending in his criminal history and his previous offending was overwhelmingly driven by methylamphetamine use since he was 18.
Mr Sheridan conceded it was “purely good fortune” the complainant was not shot.
Judge Joshua Trevino KC said it would have clearly been a terrifying ordeal experienced by the two men and they would have held “significant fear for their lives”.
Judge Trevino found Griffin was the instigator of the “lavish anti-social gangsterism” and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment attached to the armed robbery charge, shorter terms of imprisonment were attached to the further charges to be served concurrently.
Mr Griffin will be eligible for parole on January 4, 2025.
Mr Cabassi was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison with additional charges after a cache of weapons and drugs were located on his property during a search.
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Originally published as Mareeba man Hayden Patrick Griffin, 39, sentenced for violent ambush of two men lured by drugs
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