Trae Matthew Pickering cops six years’ jail for home invasion

A young man has been jailed for his role in a violent home invasion where the offenders approached the victim armed with a machete. Full details here. 

The 21-year-old father of two was jailed for six years for his role in a violent home invasion in Toowoomba.

A 21-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for his role in a violent home invasion in Toowoomba which included the theft and torching a car.

Trae Matthew Pickering will start serving out the six year jail term upon the expiration of a three year term he received for drug trafficking.

Pickering and associates were armed when they went to the home of three young people on August 6, 2020, where they made a number of demands for property, Toowoomba District Court heard.

Pickering later admitted to having been armed with a machete and one of the victim sustained a broken jaw when assault, Crown prosecutor Ellen Fletcher said.

Though the intruders were all masked, the home had CCTV security cameras which clearly showed the group, she said.

Pickering was filmed driving off in one of the complainant’s cars, the court heard.

That car was later found burnt out.

Pickering, who had spent 542 days in pre-sentence custody, appeared via video link from the prison to plead guilty to the home invasion, armed robbery, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and arson of a motor vehicle.

One of his accomplices, Tyrone Edwin Delaney, was jailed for six years for his role in the home invasion, the court heard.

Pickering’s barrister Frank Martin told the court his client was a father of two who had gone to Year 10 at St Mary’s College in Toowoomba but he was not invited back to the school after he was found with cannabis.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren declared 542 days of pre-sentence custody as time served and sentenced Pickering to six years in jail but ordered he be eligible to apply for release on parole as of January 31, 2023.