Bonner man's threat to set partner alight 'heinous and terrifying', says Magistrate James Lawton

The 39-year-old offender was sentenced in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon to six months in jail.

Magistrate James Lawton ordered that the balance of that term be suspended immediately, with the man having already spent four months and nine days behind bars on remand.

But the man was not able to walk free, with NSW Police successfully applying to have him extradited to serve the remainder of a different jail sentence across the border.

Agreed facts in the ACT case show the man surprised his then-partner at their home last November, when he should have been in a psychiatric hospital.

Enraged that she had packed her things to leave him, he threatened to hit her with a milk bottle.

The man then flicked what the woman believed to be methylated spirits onto her and "threatened to ignite" the fearful victim.

When the woman tried to flee in her car, the man launched himself onto the bonnet and smashed the windscreen with his elbow.

He then stole the woman's phone and fled.

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Police later spoke to the victim, and a warrant was issued for the offender's arrest.

When officers subsequently spotted the man on March 25, he took off and hid in some bushes at a Bonner park.

After being ordered not to move, the man yelled at the officers and "wrestled" with a police dog.

He was repeatedly Tasered but still managed to run away before finally being caught and handcuffed.

The 39-year-old ultimately pleaded guilty to charges of threatening to inflict grievous bodily harm, property damage, theft, and resisting police.

In court on Tuesday, prosecutor Marcus Dyason said there was no evidence to establish whether the liquid from the methylated spirits bottle had actually been that substance.

But he said it did not really matter because the victim had believed at the time of the threat to set her alight that it was.

Mr Lawton agreed, saying it "would have been a particularly heinous and terrifying incident for [the woman]".

The magistrate said the offending called for a custodial sentence, but he agreed with defence barrister Karl Pattenden that the balance should be suspended.

He urged the offender to sort out his issues with illicit drugs, saying the 39-year-old "would likely become a frequent attendee of [the court] system" unless this happened.

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