Innisfail man Jessie Alan Stanley Budd, 28, sentenced for stalking ex-partner

A judge has delivered a heavy wakeup call to a young dad as he sentenced him for stalking his ex-partner, threatening to shoot her and break her father’s legs.

Jessie Alan Stanley Budd, 28, pleaded guilty to one charge of stalking after threatening to kill his ex-partner in a day of abuse where he called and texted her dozens of times. Photo: Facebook

A Cairns District Court judge has delivering a heavy wakeup call to a young domestic violence offender telling him he needs to better himself if he wants to see his infant son again as he sentenced him for stalking his ex-partner, threatening to shoot her and break her father’s legs.

Jessie Alan Stanley Budd, 28, pleaded guilty to one charge of stalking after threatening to kill his ex-partner in a day of abuse where he called and texted her dozens of times.

Crown prosecutor Michael Arnold told the court among the abusive messages Budd told his ex-partner “you will go missing in a couple weeks, I will put my life on that, I don’t care if I go to jail”.

The court heard, over the course of three hours, Budd left eight voicemails, 8 answered calls, 20 missed calls and 46 text messages.

Mr Arnold said the defendant seemed to lose control in the midst of a relationship breakdown and sent the regrettable messages.

“The communications ranged from insulting to threatening,” he said.

Mr Arnold said Budd told the complainant he would have shot her a long time ago if they were in America.

“The quote was I would have shot you in the head.”

Mr Arnold said this was made even more prescient as Budd had previously been convicted of stealing firearms.

Budd also threatened her family telling her he would “snap her father’s kneecaps and put him in a wheelchair.”

Judge Dean Morzone KC. Picture: Brendan Radke

Judge Dean Morzone did not mince his words as he initially resisted defence counsel Kelly Goodwin’s argument that Budd’s history of domestic violence offending did not mean he was unwilling to comply with orders of the court.

“It’s worse than that he has advertently disobeyed the orders of the court in the same way we read in the papers when there is a fatality,” Judge Morzone said.

“We are in the stages of something that needs to be haunted.

“He has threatened. What’s next?”

Mr Goodwin said Budd was in the stages of a relationship breakdown which was again shut down by the judge.

“They all are Mr Goodwin, this is the problem, it is not an excuse. The community is sick and tired of it.”

Mr Goodwin argued that a recent stint in custody had been a “wake up call” and his loss of contact with his now two-year-old son was a very emotional thing for him to grapple with.

In a tearful plea to Judge Morzone, Budd said he wants to try his best to become a better man and one day have a relationship with his son and he didn’t want to be associated with the negativity of prison.
“It’s shameful and I have to prove to my boy I can be better,” he said.

In sentencing Judge Morzone remarked that domestic violence “strikes at the very person’s core, undermining their confidence about what is and what might be”.

He said there was evidence of Budd’s sorrow but the behaviour “must be stamped out.”

Judge Morzone spared Budd prison time sentencing him to 18 months imprisonment with a parole release date of the day of sentence.

Originally published as Innisfail man Jessie Alan Stanley Budd, 28, sentenced for stalking ex-partner