A man who set his girlfriend’s ex-lover on fire with a makeshift flamethrower consisting of wasp spray and a lighter sent callous texts to his mates bragging about the heinous attack.
Sparked by anger over his ex-girlfriend’s new squeeze, Glenn Paul Scriven left the male victim with burns to 8 per cent of his body when he sprayed the man with aerosol and ignited a lighter.
Days later, Scriven bragged about the violent attack in “disgraceful” texts and expressed no remorse.
Brisbane District Court was on Friday told Scriven bombarded his ex-girlfriend’s new partner with threatening texts and challenged him to a fight on April 28, 2022.
Later that evening, he confronted the man outside a home in a caravan park north of Brisbane.
Crown prosecutor Toby Corsbie said the complainant was armed with a baseball bat and took a swing at Scriven during the confrontation.
He responded by spraying the victim’s face with a can of wasp spray he had in his backpack.
“After that happened a number of times, the defendant then produced a lighter … (and) used it in front of the can of bug spray as an improvised flamethrower,” Mr Corsbie said.
The victim’s burns were concentrated around his face, neck, ears and chest after the aerosol spray ignited.
However, the burns were only superficial and did not go through the thickness of his skin.
The court was told Scriven then sent messages over the next few days admitting to the offending and threatening to do it again if he was given the chance.
Mr Corsbie said Scriven had shown “no remorse” in the messages.
Scriven pleaded guilty to one count each of assault occasioning actual bodily harm while armed and administering poison with intent to harm.
His defence barrister said the offending occurred at a time when Scriven was heavily using drugs.
She submitted her client’s time in custody had made him “very aware” to remain clean in the community with assistance.
Scriven received a head sentence of three years’ jail, but Judge Terry Gardiner made him immediately eligible for parole.
His time spent in jail since April last year was declared as time served.