A 29-year-old man who chased two motorcyclists in a four-wheel-drive before hitting one has been told by a Western Australian magistrate that he was lucky not to be facing a murder charge.
Nathan Barreto Sexton was sentenced in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court today over an incident that occurred on November 8 last year in the Goldfields town of Norseman.
Sexton's lawyer told the court that the night before the incident the two motorcycle riders had been "revving their bikes until the early hours of the morning".
The court heard his partner was two months pregnant at the time and that he "felt threatened" and was "feeling protective" of his partner.
His lawyer said he only wanted to "scare them away" but he chased them in his car onto a vacant block where he "clipped" one of the rider's handlebars.
She told the court "he admits he made a bad decision".
The police prosecutor told the court that the collision caused the rider to crash, which resulted in "minor scratches".
The case has similarities to the 2016 death of a 14-year-old Kalgoorlie boy, which sparked riots and protests across the country.
'Good fortune' that rider lived
Magistrate Andrew Matthews told Sexton the rider could easily have gone under the vehicle's wheels.
"You're very lucky you've not been charged with a more serious offence," he said.
"You should have phoned the police."
Sexton, who pleaded guilty to three charges, including dangerous driving, told the court his partner had initially called the police.
"What we're trying to avoid is a charge of murder … which is what it would be if your four-wheel-drive had run them over," Mr Andrews said.
"You don't have a licence, you have no business getting behind the wheel of a car, and you have no business trying to chase down some motorbike riders."
Sexton was sentenced to an eight-month community-based order and 100 hours of community service, while an ongoing licence disqualification was extended for another nine months.
Previous convictions
The court heard Sexton had previous convictions in 2014, 2016 and 2020 for driving while his licence was suspended.
Sexton's lawyer said he suffered from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy and was on the autism spectrum, with letters presented to the court from his GP and neurologist.
The court heard he had also been self-medicating with marijuana.
Mr Matthews said he took his medical conditions into account during sentencing.
"You've got to ignore it … I hope this has been a valuable lesson to you."
