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One of the country’s former most wanted criminals has had more than two years shaved off his non-parole period after a pair of rape convictions were quashed. Rodney Bloxsome was resentenced in the ACT Court of Appeal on Friday to a minimum of four years and nine months behind bars for his role in a drug-fuelled crime spree across Canberra. The February 2018 rampage began when Bloxsome and a group of others affected by methamphetamine, including former Brothers 4 Life gang leader Damien Featherstone, gathered at a Narrabundah home. Believing they were about to be robbed, Featherstone tried to convince the group to steal from a gun shop and “tool up” in preparation. When one of the group protested, Featherstone shot him in the thigh. Bloxsome then stabbed the man in the forearm and hand when he would not stop screaming. They then drove a woman, who was a friend of the injured man, to a Casey home. There, they held the woman captive and Featherstone hit her in the face with a broom. Bloxsome was accused of raping the woman at the home multiple times. The next day, Bloxsome and Featherstone, the latter armed with a gun, were part of a group that carjacked some elderly people in Ainslie. The crime spree entered a third day when Bloxsome and Featherstone travelled to the Military Shop in Fyshwick. They were again members of a group, which smashed glass cabinets and stole knives. Bloxsome was subsequently convicted of eight offences. He admitted to aggravated burglary, car theft and property damage, while an ACT Supreme Court jury found him guilty of two rapes and one count each of unlawful confinement, intentional wounding and aggravated robbery. He was jailed for a total of 11 years and one month, with a non-parole period of six years and 11 months. However, the ACT Court of Appeal overturned the two rape convictions in July, deeming them unreasonable having regard to the evidence and even describing one as “an affront to common sense”. As a result, Bloxsome had to be resentenced by a panel of Chief Justice Helen Murrell, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson and Acting Justice Peter Berman. On Friday morning, the judges imposed a new total jail sentence of seven years and 10 months, which was backdated to begin in 2018. They also set the new non-parole period, which makes Bloxsome eligible for release in March 2023 given he has already served nearly two-and-half years behind bars for these offences. A career criminal, Bloxsome has accumulated more than 100 convictions across multiple jurisdictions and was listed among Australia’s most wanted men in 2011.
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One of the country’s former most wanted criminals has had more than two years shaved off his non-parole period after a pair of rape convictions were quashed.
Rodney Bloxsome was resentenced in the ACT Court of Appeal on Friday to a minimum of four years and nine months behind bars for his role in a drug-fuelled crime spree across Canberra.
The February 2018 rampage began when Bloxsome and a group of others affected by methamphetamine, including former Brothers 4 Life gang leader Damien Featherstone, gathered at a Narrabundah home.
Believing they were about to be robbed, Featherstone tried to convince the group to steal from a gun shop and “tool up” in preparation.
When one of the group protested, Featherstone shot him in the thigh. Bloxsome then stabbed the man in the forearm and hand when he would not stop screaming.
They then drove a woman, who was a friend of the injured man, to a Casey home. There, they held the woman captive and Featherstone hit her in the face with a broom. Bloxsome was accused of raping the woman at the home multiple times.
The next day, Bloxsome and Featherstone, the latter armed with a gun, were part of a group that carjacked some elderly people in Ainslie.
The crime spree entered a third day when Bloxsome and Featherstone travelled to the Military Shop in Fyshwick. They were again members of a group, which smashed glass cabinets and stole knives.
Bloxsome was subsequently convicted of eight offences. He admitted to aggravated burglary, car theft and property damage, while an ACT Supreme Court jury found him guilty of two rapes and one count each of unlawful confinement, intentional wounding and aggravated robbery.
He was jailed for a total of 11 years and one month, with a non-parole period of six years and 11 months.
As a result, Bloxsome had to be resentenced by a panel of Chief Justice Helen Murrell, Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson and Acting Justice Peter Berman.
On Friday morning, the judges imposed a new total jail sentence of seven years and 10 months, which was backdated to begin in 2018.
They also set the new non-parole period, which makes Bloxsome eligible for release in March 2023 given he has already served nearly two-and-half years behind bars for these offences.
A career criminal, Bloxsome has accumulated more than 100 convictions across multiple jurisdictions and was listed among Australia’s most wanted men in 2011.
