A man who threatened people with a machete and tried to carjack them after he was confronted while fleeing an accident scene has been jailed for four years.
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John Suafai Semau, 35, from the Gold Coast pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Friday to armed robbery with personal violence, two counts of unlawful entry into a vehicle, attempt to enter a dwelling and dangerous operation of a vehicle.
Semau also pleaded guilty to eight counts of supplying dangerous drugs and one count of possessing drug manufacturing instructions.
Crown prosecutor Elise Adams said on April 28, 2022 Semau had crashed his vehicle into a parked car in a residential street in the southern Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi.
A 64-year-old male resident witnessed the crash and briefly followed Semau as he tried to leave the scene before parking behind Semau's car when he stopped at some shops.
"(The man) stated, 'You can't just destroy people's property and drive off'," Ms Adams said.
Semau put the man in a headlock and shoved him to the ground several times before taking the man's car keys from his hand, causing an injury and pointing a machete at him.
Semau struck the man's driver's side door with his machete and then drove the man's car into yet another vehicle being driven by a male bystander who had boxed in the first two vehicles.
Still armed with a machete, Semau tried to take the third vehicle but the driver locked the doors, leading him to target a fourth vehicle being driven by a 20-year-old man with his mother and dog, but he was able to reverse away.
Semau approached a woman's car and said "I don't want to hurt you, get out" while brandishing his machete.
The woman refused and Semau walked to a nearby house and demanded to be let in but was then confronted by police, who subdued him with a Taser after he pointed his machete at them.
Defence barrister Nicholas Brown said Semau had migrated to Australia aged 20 and found success as a courier and working his way up to being a business manager before an accident ended his career.
Mr Brown said Semau then lost his house and suffered multiple deaths in his family.
"He admits his use of illicit substances was a major factor and he was under the influence at the time, of offending," Mr Brown said.
He said Semau had seen a psychologist and chaplain and got clean off drugs while in custody.
District Judge Nathan Jarro said Semau had been fortunate that the stun gun functioned correctly after he threatened multiple people and police.
"This clearly is serious offending, it would have been traumatic .... it's something that must not be tolerated in society," Judge Jarro said.
Semau will be eligible for parole in October due to his 15 months on remand.
Judge Jarro said the Immigration Department would now decide if Semau is deported.
"You have that hanging over your head," the judge said.
Australian Associated Press
