A man has received a wholly suspended prison sentence over a violent home invasion in New Norfolk, where two women in their 60s were terrorised by his drug-affected half-brother armed with a metal baton.
Darren Leigh White was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, wholly suspended, after pleading guilty to aggravated burglary and assault.
The Supreme Court heard White and Nicholas Manser forced their way into a Wills Circle home on September 9, 2024, after the homeowner refused them entry.
The woman had noticed they were “badly drug-affected” and acting “weird”, the court was told. When she locked the screen door, they pushed through a faulty lock.
Inside, they followed her into her bedroom. Manser waved a telescopic baton and shoved her onto the bed.
“Where’s the gun? I know you have a handgun,” Manser demanded while rummaging through drawers and searching for Valium.
White stood at the doorway, blocking her exit, while his brother searched the room.
When the woman’s friend tried to intervene, Manser threatened her and slammed the door shut.
As the pair fled, Manser shoved the friend to the ground and threatened to “firebomb” the house.
A neighbour confronted them with a garden fork but was struck in the head with the baton after swinging at Manser.
Police arrested both men later that day at a Downie Circle address.
White was too affected by drugs to be interviewed until the following day, when he told police they had gone for a “smoko” and to buy “pineapple express drugs and “dope”.
He claimed the homeowner had invited them in and that they never intended to hurt anyone.
White pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and assault as a party to a common criminal purpose.
Supreme Court Justice Helen Wood said White’s presence “added considerably to the fear and apprehension of both complainants”.
The judge noted White’s guilty plea came just before trial but still spared witnesses from testifying.
The judge also took into account White’s recent cancer diagnosis, his efforts to stop using drugs and the 105 days he had already spent in custody.
He will be supervised on probation for 12 months. Manser has not yet been sentenced.
