A MAN and woman who objected to being labelled "dogs" went to a house at Denman armed with a chainsaw and an axe and terrified the occupants.
Daniel Joseph Meade, 37, and Katie Samantha Birch, 27, appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, intimidation and damaging property after the DPP agreed to withdraw a charge of aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence.
The pair had been friends with the victim for about 12 months and regularly visited his house in Grimes Close before things soured in July 2020. On July 29, the victim and three others were at his home when Meade and Birch came over and Meade was spotted on CCTV walking up the footpath with an axe in his hand.
One of the pair then adjusted a security camera so it pointed at the ground and the occupants said they heard a chainsaw starting up and revving loudly.
Both Meade and Birch told people they were there because someone had been calling them "dogs".
When police arrived they found an axe, a chainsaw and two bats, including one the victim had armed himself with. Meade, who is represented by solicitor Kristy Wade, has spent nearly 12 months behind bars and had likely nearly served the non-parole period he would receive now that the matter was being prosecuted in the local court. He will be sentenced on Friday, while Birch will be sentenced in July.
