Court vow: You won’t see me

The 57-year-old Molloy Island man who fired a shotgun after being attacked by his eldest son has made a vow to never be seen in a courtroom again after avoiding jail. Rodney Mark Bienke was handed an eight-month prison term that was suspended for 12 months after previously pleading guilty to discharging a firearm to cause fear, being armed to cause fear and possessing the 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition without a licence. The court was previously told Beinke had been drinking alcohol at his Molloy Island home with his wife and two sons on the evening of January 26 when he went to bed while his eldest son continued to listen to music and play video games. However, Beinke called his son to his bedroom to listen to how loud the noise was from the room and an argument ensued which soon turned physical, allegedly at the hands of the son. It was understood the son had visited his family from Adelaide and had a background of violence towards other people, including an alleged incident where he attacked his boss and broke his hand. Beinke’s wife and youngest son entered the room to intervene, only for the eldest son to punch his way back into the room. The court was told Beinke grabbed a 12 gauge shotgun from under his bed, causing everyone to flee the property in fear while he pushed out a flyscreen and fired the gun into neighbouring trees. Beinke then held the firearm in the air on the front porch as his family drove away. The neighbouring home was less than 40m away and his two sons were 1m to 2m away when the shot was fired. In submissions, duty lawyer Gemma Horstman told the court Beinke was fearing for his life while he was being attacked by his son. Ms Horstman said the son was allegedly pressing his cast against his father’s throat while punching him in the head multiple times, allegedly fracturing Beinke’s eye socket. Police from various stations throughout the South West District and the tactical response group were called to the property for a siege situation. It was further submitted Beinke had fallen asleep that night and missed a call from police, not knowing there was a strong police presence outside his home until a friend had notified him with a text message. In sentencing, Magistrate Benjamin Tyers said Beinke’s actions while drunk were “reckless, dangerous and the consequences could have been disastrous”. Mr Tyers also said it would have been foolish for a police officer to simply knock on Beinke’s front door when they did not know the level of danger the situation could have been during the siege. After forming the view that the incident occurred in “somewhat unusual circumstances”, Mr Tyers handed down the suspended prison term, as well as a total fine of $600 for the firearm and ammunition possession. Mr Tyers also barred Beinke from obtaining a firearms licence for 10 years. After being told he could stand down, Beinke told the court “you won’t be seeing me in a court, ever”.