Shannon Patrick Gray barricaded himself on a balcony while armed with a meat cleaver, court hears

An armed man who barricaded himself on a balcony attempted to set the property on fire four times during a standoff with police, an Ipswich court has heard.

A man who barricaded himself in his brother’s house while armed with a meat cleaver remained holed up in a bedroom for hours, threatening to kill himself as police tried to talk him down, a court has heard.

Shannon Patrick Gray pleaded guilty to a string of offences relating to the incident at a hearing in Ipswich District Court on Thursday (November 25).

The court heard Gray, who is in his 40s, went to his brother’s home on January 21, armed with a meat cleaver and demanded to be let inside.

When he was refused entry, he made his way to the house’s balcony and barricaded himself there, saying “I’m going to burn your house down.”

Police arrived and Gray told officers to “f--- off” and “f--- you dog” when they warned he was obstructing them.

The court heard the other occupants were able to leave safely.

Crown prosecutor Andreas Galloway said Gray told police he would speak only with his daughter, but would not give them her name.

Gray put up tarps and sheets and barricaded himself behind them, poking his head out and brandishing the meat cleaver at the police, the court heard.

He then set a piece of paper in a small wicker basket on fire and threw it off the balcony, but it quickly extinguished.

Gray had made his way into the house and was holed up in a bedroom when police negotiators arrived and tried to talk to him through a window.

Mr Galloway said Gray was “highly emotional” and exhibiting sudden mood changes.

He said Gray threatened to kill himself and told police they would have to shoot him.

Gray threw several wine bottles at police, narrowly missing them.

He then tried to light a fire in an airconditioning unit on the balcony, which was extinguished by police before negotiations continued.

Gray lit another fire in the bedroom. Mr Galloway said the flames “reached high” before being extinguished.

Just before 1am, Gray set fire to the house again, this time requiring firefighters to smash a window so they could extinguish the blaze.

Gray eventually surrendered himself to police at 3.45am.

He was assessed by paramedics and has remained in custody since his arrest in January.

Mr Galloway said the damage and cost of fixing the house came to about $4667.

Gray pleaded guilty to three counts of endangering particular property by fire – domestic violence offence, one count of burglary while armed, four charges of assault police and one charge of obstruct police.

Defence barrister Dylan Hans said Gray had a traumatic childhood and was exposed to homelessness, drugs, alcohol and crime at a young age.

Mr Hans said this was not an excuse, but was offered as an explanation to Gray’s behaviour.

Judge Dennis Lynch accepted that Gray had had an “extraordinarily deprived” upbringing and had been dependent on drugs on and off in his life.

He urged Gray to change his lifestyle to avoid “going in and out of jail.”

“The only person who can do something to change that is you,” Justice Lynch said.

He gave Gray a two-year head sentence on the armed burglary offence and 12 months each on the endangering by fire counts, to be served concurrently.

Gray was convicted and not further punished on the remaining charge.

His 307 days of pre-sentence custody was declared time served and Gray was granted immediate parole.

However, the court heard Gray would not be released immediately as he had outstanding summary offences.

Originally published as Shannon Patrick Gray barricaded himself on a balcony while armed with a meat cleaver, court hears