Two Illawarra brothers and one of their mates have confessed to carrying out a violent, armed home invasion in the wake of a dispute over the sale of a mobile phone.
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Benjamin and Nicholas Bilboe, along with Steven William Firmin, forced their way into Jayden Thorton-Eddy's Mangerton home in October 2017 seeking to retrieve the Samsung Galaxy, but ended up leaving empty handed, with the Bilboe brothers both sporting injuries from the confrontation.
The trio was each charged with aggravated enter dwelling with intent to intimidate (in company) and had been due to stand trial in Wollongong District Court this week but entered last minute guilty pleas in a deal with prosecutors.
A set of agreed facts tendered to the court revealed Firmin sold the phone to Thornton-Eddy in mid-2017, with $80 changing hands at the time.
However, a dispute developed between the pair over the terms of the sale, namely whether the $80 was a one-off payment or the first of a series of payments.
The court heard Firmin legitimately believed he was owed more money for the phone and went to Thornton-Eddy's house on the morning of October 7 to discuss the matter. When the conversation grew heated, Thornton-Eddy told Firmin to leave.
Firmin left the house but returned 20 minutes later with the Bilboe brothers in tow; Benjamin was armed with a meat clever concealed down the back of his pants.
The group forced their way inside the Myuna Way property and confronted Thornton-Eddy in his bedroom, demanding more money or the return of the phone.
A fight broke out between Thornton-Eddy and the Bilboes (Firmin had already left the room by then), during which Benjamin was struck, leaving him with a deep cut to his lower back.
Nicholas escaped with cuts on his hands, while Thornton-Eddy received a number of small lacerations to the back of his head, his stomach and hands. The brothers later sought treatment at Wollongong Hospital, as did Thornton-Eddy, which brought the case to the attention of police.
When questioned by detectives, Thornton-Eddy admitted owning a machete but claimed he'd sold it to a neighbour two weeks earlier.
However, police later discovered messages on Thornton-Eddy's mobile phone that mentioned the fight and said "full stabbed one of them heaps bad. Got blood all through the room and it ain't mine (sic)".
Prosecutors conceded in court that they could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the brothers were not acting in self defence during the fight.
All three cases have been adjourned to June for sentencing.