Painter jailed for ‘bully-boy’ extortions

A PAINTER has been jailed for extortion after sending threatening messages, headbutting a man and demanding money in a dispute about a boat.

The Southport District Court was told Steven Jaison Saillot, 38, had left a “worthless” boat at a man’s property in late 2016.

When the man moved out, he asked Saillot to remove the boat, but he never did.

Saillot phoned the man three months later and said he owed him for the boat as it was no longer at the sold property.

His victim then didn’t hear from him until 18 months later.

The court was told Saillot travelled to Stradbroke Island on October 19, 2018 and demanded $40,000 for the boat.

Judge Catherine Muir said the man told him he didn’t owe anything.

“You then grabbed (the man) by the throat and headbutted him, causing him to fall to the ground,” she said.

The man later offered Saillot his Toyota HiLux in exchange for leaving him alone, the court was told.

But Saillot didn’t and told the man he would exchange the ute for $10,000.

Saillot then told the man he would not be out of his life until he signed the HiLux in his name.

Judge Muir said between October 24 and November 3, the victim received 43 messages from Saillot, causing him to feel “scared and threatened to the point that he did not want to return home or go to his workplace”.

He eventually went to police and Saillot was charged with the theft of the man’s car.

In an unrelated incident, Saillot also tried to extort a Hope Island business owner he claimed owed him money for a paint job that never eventuated between October 2 and 23, 2018, the court was told.

Saillot pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion, assault occasioning bodily harm and other offences.

“This is extraordinarily serious bully-boy behaviour,” Judge Muir said. “It is aptly described as sinister by the crown. You made serious threats to two separate people in different ways over a period of some 25 days. It was frightening for both of them.”

Judge Muir said the offending did appear out of character, apparently caused by a cocaine addiction that he had since overcome.

Saillot was jailed for four years, suspended after 16 months.