BRETT Mills didn’t like being dumped and so got on Facebook to threaten his ex-partner’s life.
He was going to “assassinate” everyone in her house and reckoned “more than eight coppers” couldn’t stop him.
It left his former girlfriend traumatised and led to him being jailed in Wodonga Court yesterday.
Mills — wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Too good to be cooped up” — appeared shocked and confused when jailed for six months yesterday.
In a later bail application after lodging an appeal against the sentence, magistrate John Murphy heard how Mills told the policewoman escorting him to the cells that he wouldn’t have turned up if he knew he was going to jail.
Mr Murphy was hesitant about granting Mills bail but relented.
The court heard that Mills — a 24-year-old Glenroy man who has been mostly unemployed since leaving school at 16 — was angry that his girlfriend was having an affair with another man.
Mr Murphy initially told Mills, of Captain Cook Drive, his six-month jail term would be suspended for 12 months.
But then he dropped the suspended term after agreeing with the prosecution’s submission that he probably couldn’t do so for such charges.
Mills, wearing sagging grey jeans, pleaded guilty to making threats to kill and a Commonwealth charge of using a telecommunication device to harass.
Defence solicitor Mario Vaccaro said while Mills was in a relationship with the victim, she in turn “was having an affair with an acquaintance of him”.
He was living in Albury while the victim was living in the Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn.
“I know they’re very serious charges,” Mr Vaccaro said.
“It was brought on by him being angry.”
The charges stemmed from Facebook posts that Mills made from his home about 10.30pm on January 12, 2011.
“I know where you live and I know where your family lives,” he said.
In a later posting, Mills said: “When you and Ben come to get his stuff I hope you have got more than eight coppers because I will take them on, grab a gun and assassinate them”.
In another post he said he was “coming down to kill everyone in that house” and also threatened to shoot the victim’s father.
Mr Murphy agreed with Mr Vaccaro’s view of the case.
“They’re very serious,” he said of the charges.
Mr Murphy also fined Mills $500.