Ronald Arnold Palmer sentenced in Townsville District Court after taunting victims in stolen car on The Strand

A man who clung onto the side of a moving ute and threatened victims with a knife on The Strand in a disturbing carjacking has confessed he’s not ready to leave jail.

Ronald Arnold Palmer sentenced in Townsville District Court after taunting victims in stolen car on The Strand

A man who taunted his victims by beeping the horn of the car he had just stolen has admitted to the court he was not ready to be released into the community and wants to continue to work on his drug rehabilitation from behind bars.

Ronald Arnold Palmer appeared in Townsville District Court this week for a string of violent and threatening offences which involved him firing off a gun and stealing a car.

Crown prosecutor Terence McCosker said on May 9 last year, two young men had been driving a Toyota Hilux along The Strand before breaking at a stop light.

He said Palmer who had been walking across the street approached the vehicle and stepped up on the side step of the car and attempted to remove one of the men’s seatbelts from through the window.

The court was told the driver accelerated in an attempt to throw Palmer off, but he stayed on the side of the car and pulled out a knife jabbing at the men.

Mr McCosker said Palmer pulled one of the men from the car, and threatened the other with the knife before the victim voluntarily got out, and Palmer took off in the vehicle.

The court was told he did a U-turn to drive back past the men and “tooted” the horn in what Judge Carl Heaton described as “mocking” them.

It was also reported that the ute was handed back to the owner undamaged.

A month earlier in separate offending, Palmer got into an altercation with a friend while drinking and was asked to leave the house before the fight spilled out onto Richard St.

Mr McCosker said the man ran into parkland nearby and fired off a single gunshot in hopes to strike fear into the other man.

The prosecutor also informed the court of Palmer’s extensive criminal history which included a three year jail sentence in 2018 for wounding after he used a machete to cut a person’s back.

Defence lawyer Ross Malcomson said the man had taken ownership of his mistakes since being held in custody.

“He appreciates he’s the maker of his own mess,” Mr Malcolmson said.

“The seriousness of the offence only dawned on him when he was free of the drugs.

“Methamphetamine use has been the factor behind this offending and he’s instructed in conference he’s not ready to be released at this point in time.”

Mr Malcomson told the court Palmer wanted to stay in jail to finalise multiple drug rehabilitation courses so he wasn’t tempted with drug use when in the community.

Judge Heaton acknowledged the man’s remorse but emphasised the distress caused to the victims.

“You’re a built man and would’ve posed as a concerning threat to the complainants, particularly being armed with a knife,” he said.

“I’m comforted by the fact you recognize you need to embrace the opportunities you have in a custodial setting to attend courses to help you address the underlying factor that is drug use.”

Palmer pleaded guilty to robbery while armed, assault, threatening violence and using a motor vehicle without consent.

He was sentenced to five years’ jail, Judge Heaton declared the 181 days in pre-sentence custody as time served and set a parole eligibility date of May 7, 2025.

Originally published as Ronald Arnold Palmer sentenced in Townsville District Court after taunting victims in stolen car on The Strand