William John Maximos Doidge fronts Toowoomba Magistrates Court for going armed so as to cause fear

A former student of a Toowoomba school got in a verbal altercation with a staff member and produced a 20cm knife in full view of schoolchildren, a court has been told.

A teenager pulled out a 20cm knife near a Toowoomba school in view of a staff member and students, a court has been told.

William John Maximos Doidge appeared in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to going armed so as to cause fear.

The court was told that at 3.05pm on August 17 Doidge was seen outside Harristown State School, and during a verbal altercation with a staff member in Rowena Park he produced a 20cm long knife in view of both the victim and schoolchildren.

William Doidge, 18, has faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court for being armed with a knife in public.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Alister Windsor said Doidge confronted the victim at around 3.15pm, and again produced the knife before climbing a fence, when police were called.

Doidge’s solicitor Amber Acreman said her client took responsibility for his actions by handing himself in to police that afternoon.

Ms Acreman said Doidge was working with Emerge which had contributed to the fact that he had not been charged with any other offences since August.

Magistrate Kay Ryan said while it was an early plea of guilty and Doidge accepted responsibility for his actions, the fact remained that he “shouldn’t be carrying a knife in the first place”.

Doidge was fined $700, and no conviction was recorded.