A Tasmanian man who drove his ute through a fence and towards his cousin and her partner has been jailed after wounding the man with a box cutter.
Ryan Purdy, who was 36 at the time, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Friday after pleading guilty to unlawfully injuring property, assault and wounding.
The court heard Purdy believed his cousin’s partner had made a derogatory comment about him, causing animosity between them.
On October 2, 2024, Purdy drove to the couple’s home in a black Mitsubishi Triton after making threats.
He mounted the footpath, reversed and crashed through a wooden fence into the backyard, where the pair were standing.
Purdy shouted threats and drove towards them, forcing the couple to take evasive action.
His cousin’s partner pulled him from the ute during a scuffle.
Purdy then used a box cutter to inflict a five-centimetre cut to the man’s forearm.
The man and his brother restrained Purdy until police arrived.
The court heard the assault charge related to the threats Purdy made rather than physical contact.
The state accepted the wounding involved excessive self-defence and an element of recklessness.
However, it argued Purdy’s decision to drive at the couple was dangerous and disproportionate to the man’s attempt to pull him from the ute.
Justice Stephen Estcourt described the offending as a “disgraceful affair”.
He said “the violence used by the defendant was a totally
disproportionate response to both the insult involved and the force advanced”.
The court heard Purdy’s cousin now lives in fear, has moved house and become a recluse.
Purdy had a criminal history spanning what the judge described as 35 pages, including offences involving dangerous driving and violence.
He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, backdated to September 2, 2025, with the remaining term suspended.
Purdy must not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment for 12 months after his release.
He had already spent 308 days in custody on remand.
