Anne-Marie Taylor pleads guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed in company

A woman claimed she didn’t know her co-offenders were armed with knives despite calling them as back up when visiting a former ex-partner’s home to retrieve property left after a break up.

Anne-Marie Taylor pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm while armed in company.

A woman who went armed and with backup to collect items left at her ex-partner’s house has earned a jail sentence after the errand descended into a chaotic melee involving knives, a cricket bat and a wooden baton.

The Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard yesterday that Anne-Marie Taylor, 21, and her male co-offenders went to the complainant’s Curzon Street home on September 14.

Police Prosecutor Natalie Bugden said CCTV footage from the home showed one of the men carrying a large serrated bread knife before he tied a bandana across his face.

Taylor is seen to attempt to move the camera so it faced away from the trio.

They walk to the property’s rear and confront the complainant who pushed Taylor and shut the entrance to the dwelling.

The co-offenders forced entry to the dwelling and a fight ensued after the complainant armed himself with a knife and a co-offender removed a pocket knife hidden in his clothes.

The court heard the complainant’s leg was cut and that Taylor repeatedly stuck his back with a wooden baton.

Duty solicitor Kyna Morice told the court her client feared the complainant would turn violent so she arrived with back up.

“(Taylor) didn’t know that anyone had knives, they were behind her and she was focused on the task,” she said.

“She said she moved the camera to where the complainant was because she was concerned. She accepted that it got out of hand. and that it was incredibly stupid that she went there with those concerns.”

Ms Morice said Taylor was young and had a limited criminal history.

Magistrate Kay Ryan said she struggled to believe Taylor did not know about the knives.

“This has deteriorated into an absolute disaster,” she said.

Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm while armed and in company.

She was sentenced to three months in jail, suspended for nine months.