The Supreme Court has sentenced a teenager and his father after they turned up at a man’s home armed with a machete and a knife, following a heated text exchange over an apparently stolen car.
Shane Ralston, 19, threw the machete at the property owner during the violent confrontation last July, striking him in the head and leaving a wound that needed medical glue to close.
The court heard Ralston and his 54-year-old father drove to the complainant’s house looking for trouble after discovering the man was driving Ralston’s vehicle without permission.
The car had been stored on a neighbouring property and its owner had allowed the complainant to use it, the court heard.
“The only possible inference is that you were there to aggressively confront him and you must, at the least, have contemplated the use of violence,” Justice Michael Brett said in his published comments.
When the man came out holding a pitchfork in self-defence, Ralston “panicked” and threw the machete. It struck the man’s head, causing a 1–2cm cut.
The man then chased the pair off and threw the machete back at their vehicle. In response, Ralston’s father ran him down with the car, leaving him with serious injuries.
Justice Brett described both men’s behaviour as “abysmal”, but noted a clear difference between the father and son’s actions.
“Your moral culpability is considerably lessened by your age and the fact that you were acting under the influence of your father,” he said.
“While you both went there with weapons, your reactions and his were very different. There are also significant differences in age and criminal history.”
Ralston was handed a wholly suspended 10-month sentence and ordered to complete 175 hours of community service.
The court heard he had no prior convictions and had been diagnosed with possible ADHD and autism.
Ralston is now engaged in a youth support program and has recently found work in horticulture.
His father was separately sentenced to three years and eight months imprisonment for his more serious assault charges.
Ralston was also disqualified from driving for three months after admitting to driving unaccompanied as a learner.
