A gifted soccer player and student who represented the state before turning to drugs and “bad peer influences” has been jailed over a “frightening” home invasion and shooting which occurred as children played sport nearby.
Early on Sunday, February 19, 2017 Benjamin Tarabar, 28, who police have previously said was a Hells Angels associate, forced his way into a St Clair home alongside another masked man, brandishing a gun and threatening another two men inside.
One of the men inside suffered a bullet graze to his lower leg. In sentencing in the District Court on Tuesday, Judge Liesl Chapman said one of the occupants, who had been sleeping on a downstairs couch, answered the door.
“He tried to push the door closed but you both pushed back on the door and forced your way into the loungeroom. You were both armed with what appeared to be pistols,” she said. “(That victim) was pushed to the back wall of the loungeroom while one of you pointed a pistol and said ‘shh’.
At gunpoint, the men then ordered him to remove his gold jewellery before shutting him outside. The other alleged offender then went upstairs, where shots were fired — one of which grazed the leg of the home’s second occupant and another which penetrated the wardrobe of a neighbouring unit.
“There is no doubt this was a very frightening home invasion for the two occupants of the house,” Judge Chapman said. “To be woken up by two men coming into a house, uninvited, seemingly armed and having jewellery stolen with shots fired upstairs would be terrifying for any member of the community.
She said the offending was intentional and premeditated and “there can be no justification for that type of criminal behaviour”.
“It almost goes without saying that people must feel safe in their homes at all times.
“I don’t know the reason why you and the other man engaged in this behaviour that morning, but I can say that no one ever deserves to be invaded.” Judge Chapman said a psychologist found Tarabar was at a “moderate” risk of reoffending with risk factors including illegal drugs and bad peer influences.
His lawyer said he was severing ties with those “negative peers” but prosecutor Ryan Williams said he had been in contact with them in recent months while in prison.
Mr Williams said it was “only luck that no one was killed or seriously injured” during the ”brazen” offending as families with young children were playing sport “just across the road”.
Judge Chapman imposed a seven-year jail term with a 3 ½ year non-parole period. She also issued a firearms prohibition order. She said Tarabar, who has been in custody since his June 2, 2017 arrest, will be eligible for parole before his 30th birthday. A second man charged over the incident was found not guilty by a jury.
Source: The West