Gladstone police pull gun on Shane Yowyeh during armed stand-off

A Central Queensland man who got upset about his partner’s Snapchat messages and accused her of cheating before violently attacking her, was also involved in an armed stand-off with police.

Shane Ambrose Yowyeh, 32, was sentenced in Gladstone Magistrates Court on April 10. Generic image.

A Central Queensland man who hit his partner over the head with a pole was also involved in a stand-off with police while armed with a knife, a court has heard.

Shane Ambrose Yowyeh, 32, appeared in custody in Gladstone Magistrates Court on April 10 where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to charges including assault occasioning bodily harm (domestic violence offence), possessing a knife in public, and two counts of serious assault of police while armed.

The court heard that on March 6, Yowyeh’s partner was at his residence when he started “going through” her phone, looking at her Snapchat messages.

“You became jealous and snapped at her,” Magistrate Mary Buchanan said.

Then on March 9, the woman was again at Yowyeh’s place when he accused her of cheating on him.

The court heard that Yowyeh slapped the woman and she said she was going to call the police.

He then locked the door and told her not to go, before hitting her “over the head with a pole.”

He also used scissors to “scratch a mark” into her leg, the court was told.

When the woman tried to leave, Yowyeh “dragged” her back to a bedroom.

The woman then managed to get to the front door when Yowyeh hit her in the head and “dragged her” back to the bedroom again.

The woman suffered injuries including bruising and scratches.

The court heard that during a later incident, she ran to a service station where she told staff that Yowyeh was trying to stab her with a kitchen knife.

Gladstone Courthouse.

When approached by police, Yowyeh removed the knife from his waistband and held it above his head.

He pointed the blade towards one of the female police officers who was standing less than a metre from him, and she disengaged.

Another police officer then produced her gun and directed Yowyeh to drop the knife, but he started to walk away while still holding the weapon.

Police then deployed a taser which incapacitated Yowyeh.

Magistrate Buchanan said she had watched the footage of the incident which was captured on police body-worn cameras, and she described it as “incredibly serious offending.”

Solicitor Jun Pepito said Yowyeh, a father of five, had co-operated with police during their investigations.

Ms Buchanan noted Yowyeh’s relationship with the aggrieved woman had been a short one.

“You’d only been released from prison on the 28th of February, 2024, and you’d been on a drug bender at the time of the offending,” Ms Buchanan said.

The court heard that Yowyeh had a 13-page criminal history which included a previous serious assault police offence as well as dishonesty offences.

Ms Buchanan sentenced Yowyeh to two years’ jail, declared 31 days’ pre-sentence custody as time already served, and fixed parole release at October 10, 2024.

Convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Gladstone police pull gun on Shane Yowyeh during armed stand-off