Nickolas Pedder: Claremont drink driver tried to run down pedestrians multiple times, court hears

A Hobart man who yelled abuse at a pair of dog-walkers became so enraged when one quipped back that he stalked them in his ute and tried to run them down multiple times. What happened >

An intoxicated Hobart man who yelled abuse at a pair of dog walkers became enraged when one of them sniped back, so he tried to run them and their dog down in his ute.

Claremont man Nickolas Luke William Pedder, 29, previously pleaded guilty to 10 offences relating to the vehicular assaults and a separate instance of dangerous driving through the streets of Hobart while he was intoxicated.

Pedder’s charges included six counts of common assault, one of cruelty to animals, relating to his attempt to run the pedestrians’ dog over, and unrelated counts of dangerous driving, evading police and exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit.

On Thursday in Hobart Supreme Court, Chief Justice Alan Blow sentenced Pedder to an eight-month home detention order, a 12-month community correction order, a two-month jail sentence, wholly suspended for two years, and disqualified him from driving for three years.

The assaults on the two male pedestrians and their dog occurred at Claremont on March 3 last year.

As the pair walked past his house, Pedder, who was intoxicated, yelled abuse at them, calling one of them a “long-haired f----t”.

One of the pedestrians made a derogatory comment in response, enraging Pedder, who got behind the wheel of his Toyota HiLux utility and began stalking the pair.

Pedder initially drove up on the footpath behind them, forcing them to “jump out of the way”.

He made a U-turn then drove back at them “at speed,” forcing them to take evasive action again, Justice Blow said.

Pedder performed a second, then third, U-turn, again aiming his vehicle at the men. On one of the passes, he drove directly at the dog, which was “standing on the road”.

“The dog ducked and lay low on the road … Pedder drove his vehicle over her without making contact with her,” Justice Blow said.

After narrowly avoiding the dog, he made a final pass at the pair, “driving around in circles” to corral them.

When one of the pair tried to walk away, Pedder drove at him and connected, knocking the man to the ground.

Both victims suffered significant psychological trauma as a result of the offending, Justice Blow said.

Pedder was interviewed by police two months later, on May 8.

Pedder was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Richard Jupe

“He told the police that there was no excuse for his conduct, that it was reckless and dangerous, that he was lost for words, that he felt like an absolute moron, and that he wanted them to tell the complainants that he felt really bad,” Justice Blow said.

The vehicular assaults were committed in breach of a suspended sentence imposed on March 25, 2020, in relation to two charges of burglary and two charges of stealing.

Justice Blow was scathing of the offending.

Follow @humidityreport

“I accept that he intended only to scare the men. However, when a motor vehicle is used as a weapon, it is a potentially deadly weapon, and in this case it was in the hands of a man who was intoxicated and irresponsible. Much greater harm could have been done,” he said.

The unrelated dangerous driving and evading police occurred in the early hours of May 31 last year and involved Pedder driving 160–180km/h on the Brooker Hwy at Moonah and about 100km/h on Davey St in the CBD.

He drove on the wrong side of the road and ran red lights on multiple occasions and was subsequently found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.121 per cent.

Justice Blow said Pedder, a “proud Aboriginal man,” had a poor criminal history but a “reasonable” work history.

“He had a dreadful childhood which involved family violence, drug abuse, [and] neglect,” Justice Blow said.

He declined to activate Pedder’s suspended sentence.