A man who stole a car after attacking and intimidating its owner at a Claremont service station has been given a fully suspended prison sentence.
Christopher John Howard, 43, pleaded guilty to carjacking on the day his Supreme Court trial was due to begin, when his victim had been set to give evidence.
The court heard Howard was intoxicated when he verbally and physically abused the victim at the service station in Hobart’s northern suburbs at about 11:10pm on January 10, 2024.
The victim fled inside the service station in fear, leaving his car running.
Howard drove off in the vehicle and later abandoned it at Lachlan, some 26km away.
Sentencing Howard on March 16, 2026, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Estcourt said the impact on the victim had been “profound”, noting he had suffered severely both psychologically and financially.
“The crime of carjacking is a serious one,” Justice Estcourt said.
“General deterrence and denunciation are to the fore in sentencing considerations, but as to personal deterrence, I think that the defendant’s circumstances justify weight being given to rehabilitation.”
The court heard Howard had a long history of violent and dishonest offending linked to homelessness and substance abuse, but had since found stable housing and reduced his drug and alcohol use.
At the time of the offence, Howard was more than two years into a three-year suspended sentence for robbery and unlawfully injuring property.
Justice Estcourt activated 63 days of that earlier sentence – equivalent to the time Howard had already spent in custody – rather than the full nine months, saying it would be “unjust” to impose the full term given Howard’s progress.
For the carjacking, Howard was sentenced to 12 months in prison, wholly suspended for two years.
He was also placed on a 12-month community correction order requiring supervision, drug and alcohol treatment and participation in the EQUIPS addiction program.
