Perth gunman in psychosis when he terrorised family, shot at police, court told

A Perth gunman was in a drug-induced psychosis when he terrorised a local family and shot at a fleeing woman and responding police officers, a court has been told.

Jakeb Byfield appeared in Perth District Court on Thursday, charged with stealing a gun and shooting it at a home in Butler in November 2023.

The court heard Byfield was likely in a drug-induced psychosis when he drove by the home on Marchwood Boulevard about five times the day prior, even parking up across the road at one point and walking into the open garage to speak to one of the occupants.

Prosecutors allege Byfield did not know anyone at the property, but asked to speak to someone by the name of “Kev”. When he was told there was no one there by that name, he left. However, he returned shortly after, asking for someone by a different name — unwittingly matching a resident at the address. He was then let inside.

The then 27-year-old stayed for 10 minutes before he was asked to leave.

The next day, Byfield targeted the same house and parked across from the house. He saw a woman at the address, and yelled at her: ‘Where is Tanya?’

The woman asked if she knew him, and he responded: ‘You want to play that game? Three premature babies died last night!’

The court heard the woman became alarmed by his erratic behaviour and went to get help. On returning, she heard him inside her house, and he yelled at her to come inside. She refused and instead went to find another neighbour who was an off-duty police officer.

As she approached the house, Byfield fired a Winchester shotgun at the front courtyard of the property. He then walked over to the front of the neighbour’s house and knocked on the door with the gun before walking back to the woman’s home and going inside.

Police were called, and when they arrived, Byfield asked them if they ‘were here to rob the place’, and when they said they were police, he fired the shotgun again. Police were forced to hide behind a parked car and call for back up.

When Byfield was arrested, police found a black balaclava and the gun, which had been stolen in 2022. An ammunition round was jammed inside.

Byfield was before the court for sentencing on Thursday, but Judge Seamus Rafferty said he was unable to proceed as he had no insight into Byfield’s psychiatric health at the time of the incident.

Rafferty said a psychiatric report given to court was “completely meaningless”, as it failed to list the name of any practitioner who examined Byfield, their qualifications or any details of the rehabilitation programs he had done while in prison.

“The report is completely deficient of any information that is beneficial to the court … the report from that particular organisation is meaningless,” he said.

Rafferty said character references included in the report were from people who did not even appear to know Byfield or what he was accused of doing, and was based on information Byfield had self-reported.

As a result, Rafferty adjourned sentencing but said it was highly likely Byfield would be subject to an immediate term of imprisonment.

“The person you were on that day is not the person standing before me today, but sometimes we need to pay for the sins of the past,” he said.

Byfield’s sentencing was adjourned until next year.