Traydan John Dahlstrom sentenced for Baringa home invasion

A family man who stormed a Baringa home and used a baseball bat to bash a man in a “gang” home invasion has fought back tears while being jailed.

A family man who stormed a Baringa home and bashed a man with a bat during a violent home invasion has fought back tears as he was sentenced to prison for his “serious mistake”.

Traydan John Dahlstrom was sentenced to three years in prison to serve 15 months after he pleaded guilty to five offences including entering a dwelling with intent by break using violence while armed in company on March 19, 2020.

Maroochydore District Court heard Dahlstrom, now 24, used a baseball bat his victim had grabbed to protect himself to hit the man over the head 10 to 15 times.

“Frankly you are lucky he is still alive,” Judge Bernard Porter said.

Mr Porter said a guest in the home took the bat off Dahlstrom and told him to calm down before the 24-year-old chased the victim outside and continued punching him.

“You retrieved the baseball bat and you chased him, choosing to continue the violent assault,” he said.

Mr Porter said the attack only stopped when a brave neighbour jumped a fence and stopped Dahlstrom.

He said Dahlstrom and two other men had forced their way into the Baringa home where the male victim, a mother, a young boy and another man were at 9:30pm.

“The female was screaming and yelling at you to get out of the house, you barged open the door, squashing their son who was standing against a wall, he was nine-years-old,” he said.

The court heard Dahlstrom also punched the mother in the mouth while her son screamed.

Police prosecutor Alex Stark said it was clear Dahlstrom, who admitted to threatening the male victim leading up to the assault, had a vendetta against the man that steamed from a money dispute.

The court heard the victim sustained “significant injuries” and suffered from vomiting, headaches, neck pain and a deformed nose.

Traydan John Dahlstrom was sentenced to three years in prison to serve 15 months after he pleaded guilty to five offences. Picture: Social media.

Mr Stark said Dahlstrom was the primary offender and suggested a prison sentence of three years to be combined with a suspension or parole release date as an appropriate punishment.

Defence barrister Tracy Thorp said references painted Dahlstrom as a “quiet, hardworking, family man” and said he posed a low risk of reoffending.

“He is a man who has made one very serious mistake and one that he feels deep regret and remorse for,” she said.

Ms Thorp said the young man had entered an early plea of guilty, had no prior violent offences on his history, was employed and was in a stable relationship with his wife, who was in court to support him.

She said he had also seen the impact of his offending on his family.

Ms Thorp asked for Dahlstrom to be released earlier than serving 15 months of a three-year prison sentence.

Mr Porter said he couldn’t accept Dahlstrom posed a low risk of reoffending.

“How can I conclude the risk of reoffending is low and that Mr Dahlstrom has excellent prospects of rehabilitation when I've got no idea how or why this extremely violent gang home invasion occurred,” he said.

“Quiet, hard working family men … rarely seek to recover their unpaid debts like this, so why has an otherwise credible man done this and how do I know it isn't going to happen again?”

He said Dahlstrom had to be sufficiently punished for the “extremely violent attack”.

“It’s not within my role to give mercy that is beyond the scope of the law,” he said.

Given his young age, his co-operation, plea of guilty, remorse and other positive factors Mr Porter reduced the sentence from four years to three.

Dahlstrom will serve 15 months of the sentence before being released on parole May 6, 2023.

Originally published as Traydan John Dahlstrom sentenced for Baringa home invasion