Queensland man Billy Michael Armitage sentenced for 2303 threatening phone calls from Silverwater Prison

Details of how a Queensland man spent two months harassing a woman with death threats while he was behind bars in one of NSW’s most notorious prisons have been revealed.

Billy Michael Armitage made more than 2000 attempts to contact his ex partner while he was in prison.

A Queensland man serving time in one of NSW’s most notorious prisons harassed his ex partner with more than 2000 phone calls in 60 days.

Billy Michael Armitage, 31, faced Penrith Local Court via video link from custody on Friday, March 7, where he was sentenced for three charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and one charge of using a carriage service to threaten serious harm. He previously pleaded guilty.

Court documents state Armitage made 2303 phone calls to a woman between April 8, 2023, and December 12, 2023 while he was incarcerated at both the Silverwater Correctional Complex and John Morony Correctional Complex.

The documents state he did this using two other prisoner phone accounts as well as his own, and by using a call forwarding method.

His first phone call to the woman was recorded after she recognised his voice, where he made death threats claiming he was going to brutally attack the woman’s “boyfriends” while in prison.

Billy Michael Armitage made more than 2000 attempts to contact his ex partner.

“I’ll put holes in all your boyfriends, watch,” Armitage said, according to court documents.

“I’ll go straight to Supermax. What (sic) when I get em. Dash, dash, dash, straight in the neck. Neck one, lets go, Supermax, 6 months, get out, bang, who’s next, dash, dash, dash, straight in the neck, 12 months, get out, bang, who’s next dickheads.”

He also threatened to hurt her cousin and said he would “put holes in anyone”.

The documents state Armitage threatened the woman twice during two calls from an inmate’s account on October 13, 2023, threatening to “wipe (her)” and taunting her.

Armitage was held at the Silverwater Correctional Complex and the John Morony Correctional Complex (not pictured). Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

The documents state the most calls Armitage made to the woman was 244 on November 19, 2023.

During Armitage’s sentencing on Friday, the court was told he had an outstanding extradition warrant for his home state of Queensland.

Armitage had been in custody since October 2018 and, at the time of the offences, was serving a seven-year, six-month prison sentence with a four-year non parole period for a dangerous police pursuit through the Northern Rivers.

He was eligible for parole on June 11, 2023, but was charged with the harassment offences two days earlier and denied bail.

The court was told he and the woman had previously been in a relationship, which ended when Armitage went into custody.

Armitage faced Penrith Local Court (pictured) from custody on March 7, 2025.

An AVO was put in place in August 2022, preventing contact.

Defence lawyer Nora Sayed said her client had issues with men in positions of authority and drugs.

He was previously classed as an “extreme threat” while in maximum security, but Ms Sayed said he had turned himself around and demonstrated a positive attitude shift by getting clean from drugs and working while in custody.

She said he was no longer classed as an extreme threat and had been compliant with a drug program for two years.

Magistrate Brian van Zuylen sentenced Armitage to 12 months behind bars, starting on January 10, 2024 and finishing January 9, 2025.

Armitage, however, will not be released from prison until April for other matters, when he will be extradited back to Queensland.

Originally published as Queensland man Billy Michael Armitage sentenced for 2303 threatening phone calls from Silverwater Prison