A man who committed a spree of drug-fuelled "random acts of violence" has been jailed.
Steven Quinlan, 29, appeared in the holding cell of Armidale Local Court before Magistrate Jillian Kiely on Thursday, November 13, for a hearing.
Quinlan was going to defend against multiple assault, armed with intent and intimidation charges, but his defence solicitor, Yusuf Hassan, negotiated a plea agreement with police prosecutor Sergeant Sarah Huntley.
Quinlan pleaded guilty to a new charge of stalk or intimidate and entered guilty pleas to existing charges of armed with intent to commit an indictable offence and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. A further armed with intent charge was withdrawn. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of stalk or intimidate and destroy/damage property.
In his submissions, Mr Hassan said Quinlan was about to turn 30 and was a father with strong community and familial ties to Armidale.
Mr Hassan said Quinlan had completed a two-and-a-half-year course in professional dance and performance, but had gotten into social use of drugs.
"It isolated him and cut him off socially; it has had an impact on his potential."
Mr Hassan conceded a prison sentence was likely, given the serious nature of the offences, which involved Quinlan threatening multiple people with a knife, but he said they were also impetuous and unplanned.
According to police documents tendered in court, Quinlan was heavily drugged when he threatened a person in a supermarket car park, telling them to "get out of the f***ing car, I'll f***ing kill you".
Reading from the documents, Ms Kiely said the first victim was able to drive away when Quinlan then threw a rock, chipping the windscreen of a separate vehicle.
"He erratically ran around the streets screaming abusive language," Ms Kiely said.
Quinlan then tried to provoke a fight with a person skateboarding down Niagara Street, challenging them to "let's have a go", while he was holding a white-handled kitchen knife, Ms Kiely said as she continued to detail the account.
She said the person then used their skateboard as a shield, fearing they would be stabbed, and Quinlan struck them in the face with a closed fist.
"Certainly the person whom he assaulted would have been very fearful he would have been stabbed - it was certainly unprovoked," Ms Kiely said.
Police said Quinlan then turned his attention to some joggers, who fled when they were alerted to Quinlan's demeanour by a bystander.
Quinlan then aggressively approached the person and walked into their yard while still holding the knife, until he was startled by dogs on the property.
"He was screaming and rambling abuse and was subsequently arrested and dropped the knife, it had a 6cm blade," Ms Kiely said.
"He was so drug-affected, police had to cover him with a taser."
Mr Hassan said Quinlan had been in custody since May 2, following his arrest and was also subject to further time in custody after his parole was revoked.
Mr Hassan accepted a jail sentence was likely and urged the court to consider a release date "early in 2026, and he can serve the balance under strict supervision".
"He has a lengthy history of violent offences dating to 2018; he has had drug issues since that time, a history of non-compliance, a history peppered with violence and drug use," Ms Kiely said.
"He was given a great opportunity with an Aboriginal dance performance company and it's a shame he has squandered that opportunity, he originally took drugs socially, but they became habitual and as Mr Hassan said it really has impacted on his potential."
Ms Kiely said it was "important to protect the community from these kinds of random acts of violence".
She sentenced Quinlan to an aggregate 17-month prison term with a non-parole period of 12 months back-dated to his arrest on May 2.
Quinlan was convicted of the chipped windscreen with no further penalty.
The court also heard that a day prior to those charges, Quinlan had threatened another person with a knife, demanding a bag of groceries they were carrying home. The person fled and called police.
"Again, it's random violence towards a complete stranger," Ms Kiely said. "It would have caused the victim considerable fear; the offender was acting aggressively and erratically, and he was armed. It's a serious offence and I reiterate the comments I made about the previous matters."
For the stalk or intimidate charge, Ms Kiely sentenced Quinlan to a further 12 months in jail, to run concurrently with the earlier sentence.
Quinlan will be released on parole on May 1, 2026.