A Wollongong man threatened to slit the throat and shoot a child who was due to give evidence against him, Port Kembla Local Court has heard.
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Ian Francis Michael Quinn is accused of making a number of threatening gestures to the 14-year-old boy on August 7, after approaching the child and urging him to ‘‘tell the truth’’ in a court case against him.
The court heard the boy had allegedly witnessed an altercation between Quinn and another man at an earlier date, which resulted in Quinn stabbing the man in the back a number of times.
The boy was due to give evidence at the 50-year-old’s hearing when the threats allegedly took place.
On Monday a witness told the court Quinn seemed ‘‘pretty cranky’’ when he confronted the boy on his way to school and urged him to ‘‘tell the truth’’ at the impending hearing.
Hearing about the incident, the boy’s mother approached Quinn on the afternoon of August 7 and told him to stay away from her child.
The court heard that when the mother and son left for soccer training in their car soon after, Quinn allegedly pursued them ‘‘like a maniac’’.
He allegedly swerved in and out of traffic, speeding up behind them and crossing double white lines.
The woman decided to go straight to the police station to report Quinn’s behaviour.
Footage played in court showed Quinn’s car tailgating that of the alleged victims’ as she pulled into a car space out the front of Wollongong police station and went inside.
The footage showed how he then pulled up to the side of the vehicle and stayed stationary for almost 30 seconds, before driving away.
It is during this time the 50-year-old allegedly made a number of gestures to the young boy and mouthed to him to ‘‘keep your mouth shut or I’ll kill you’’.
‘‘He turned around and did a gun sign with his hand and then he shot me and I was quite scared at that point,’’ the boy later told police.
Quinn is also accused of gesturing to the boy to zip his mouth shut, before making a throat-slitting action.
He is charged with two counts of intimidation, intending to influence a witness and driving in a menacing manner.
Giving evidence in court, the Wollongong man denied allegations he ever threatened the boy or drove erratically.
He said he had been on his way out to buy cigarettes and beer when he realised the woman had mistakenly believed he was following them and headed for the police station.
Quinn said he did not stop to give his version of events to police because he could not find a park and that he had only pulled up beside the woman’s car and ‘‘shook his head’’ at the boy.
Magistrate Susan McGowan will hand down her decision in the matter on Tuesday.
