Inmate’s price for rampage

A PRISONER who went on a rampage in a maximum security unit has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Jackson Elijah Yammi Mansfield, 20, and co-accused Erich Leonard Ungerhofer both pleaded guilty to destroying property at Risdon Prison.

The trouble broke out in the afternoon of March 31 last year and Acting Justice David Porter said the “course of destructive conduct” lasted for 50 minutes and resulted in a damage bill of $101,255.

The Supreme Court in Hobart yesterday heard the men used mop and broom handles to break heads off the fire sprinkler system, and used a refrigerator door to gain access to a fire hose cabinet.

Acting Justice Porter said Mansfield turned the fire hose on and sprayed it around the unit, and that he positioned it so water flowed into a locked officers’ station in the unit.

Before the tactical response unit arrived, Mansfield threw a refrigerator from the first floor to the floor below.

Acting Justice Porter said the actions were “a very serious challenge to prison authority”.

Acting Justice Porter said Mansfield, who had been a methamphetamine user, was intent on remaining drug free, and staying away from a group of anti-social friends.

He sentenced Mansfield to 15 months, backdated to September 30 last year. He will be eligible for parole after serving nine months of the sentence.

Ungerhofer’s case has been adjourned until March 9.