A 29-year-old man climbed onto a roof, removed tiles and let himself into his former partner's home through a manhole, the Launceston Magistrates Court heard.
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Jarrod Robert Andrew Wright of Burnie pleaded guilty to six counts of breaching a family violence order and a count of destroy property at Summerhill on January 29, 2024.
He pleaded not guilty to a count of assault on the same morning.
Defence counsel Lucy Flanagan said there was a factual dispute and that Mr Wright came through the back door and had been invited inside.
The court heard that Mr Wright had been released from Risdon Prison on the day before after serving a five month sentence.
His 35-year-old ex-partner gave evidence that Wright contacted her by Snapchat in contravention of a family violence order but she told him she did not want him to come to her house.
She said she was asleep about 4am when there was a knock on the door her dog started going off.
She did not answer and the the next thing she heard was the tiles being moved on the roof.
She said he came through the roof onto the ceiling.
"Jarrod came out of my bathroom and my dog was trying to protect me," she said.
"Jarrod tried to give me a hug I said I wanted nothing to do with him and I asked him to leave."
The court heard that a friend of the woman's was asleep on the couch when Mr Wright grabbed a pair of scissors and advanced on the man before swinging them close to his head.
The woman's friend went to a neighbour's and rang police.
Mr Wright was in the house and climbed back up the manhole into the roof space before police arrived and found him.
Under vigorous cross examination from Ms Flanagan the woman denied several times that she was lying and had colluded on her evidence with two other witnesses.
The woman said that she could not remember being fined for making a false report to police.
She also denied inviting him inside.
"You are lying aren't you?," Ms Flanagan asked.
"No," the woman said.
Magistrate Sharon Cure warned Ms Flanagan to cease calling the witness a liar.
The male witness denied that he made up the story about the scissors.
In an interview Mr Wright told police that after getting back to Launceston he went to see a couple of mates and having some drinks before he "ended up going up there".
He said he had got out of the house by going through the manhole in the bathroom and taking tiles off the roof.
"I tried to climb out of the roof because I did not want to be prosecuted because I knew I shouldn't be there," he said.
He said he had moved four tiles but put two back in place.
In body worn camera footage Mr Wright was wearing jeans but had not shirt.
Ms Cure adjourned the case for decision until April 8 for decision.
The court heard that Mr Wright was subject to a four month suspended jail sentence and had been in custody since January, having been refused bail in both the Magistrates and Supreme Court.
Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
