A Narrogin teenager who sparked a six-hour land and air manhunt after pretending to be his cousin when questioned by police and who destroyed his ankle monitor while on bail has been handed more jail time.
Taeshan John Williams was sentenced in Narrogin Magistrates Court via video link from Albany Regional Prison on August 5 for criminal damage, common assault, giving false personal details to police, and wilfully and unlawfully destroying monitoring equipment.
The 19-year-old was convicted on April 15 of the offences that took place in 2024.
The offending is connected to previous charges in December 2023, for which he was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Albany District Court on May 21, 2025, backdated to February 3, 2024.
Prosecutor Sgt Gary Simpson told the court on December 16, 2023, Williams followed a man home and pelted him with rocks after Williams received a distressed call from his younger sister that an unknown man, the victim’s friend, was at their door.
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At the victim’s Narrogin residence, Williams hit him with large rocks in the leg and back, causing abrasions and knocking him down before the victim sought cover inside his house.
Williams threw rocks at the home, breaking 11 windows, put holes in the walls upon entering the home, and smashed the back window of the victim’s vehicle upon leaving, causing $18,500 worth of damage.
Sgt Simpson said when Williams admitted to the offences, he said “I was protecting my sister”.
On December 17, 2023, Williams went on an emotional tirade at his sister’s house and broke a wall panel while under the influence of methamphetamine and cannabis after he missed a call from his partner, who lives in New South Wales, announcing she had given birth.
A month later on January 20, 2024, police stopped Williams while driving in Mt Cooke at 1.45pm because they had suspected him of other serious offences, which have since been dropped.
Williams pretended he was his cousin before running to camouflage himself in nearby bushes. This evasion of police became a six-hour manhunt by air and land while Williams hid with a family member.
He was later arrested but released on bail on March 8, 2024, wearing an ankle monitor.
Two weeks later, Williams destroyed the monitoring equipment and left his residence.
Williams was arrested the next day and has been in custody since then.
Defence counsel Wendy Stewart told the court she believed a fine was appropriate as Williams was already serving jail time for the related “home invasion”.
“Almost all of his adult life has been spent in custody — he wants to move on with life,” she said.
“He plans to move back to NSW after release.”
Ms Stewart said the mandatory six-month prison term for tampering with monitor equipment was enforced on March 26, 2024, four days after Williams committed the offence, therefore the court was not bound by that rule.
She said Williams was in a heightened emotional state when he broke the wall panel because he had missed an important family moment, and he had not meant any harm by giving police false details when pulled over — he had just panicked.
Magistrate Erin O’Donnell said “that’s not going to happen” regarding a fine penalty, and said his offences “should attract imprisonment”.
Ms O’Donnell said Williams using a false name “can have a significant impact on the person who does exist” and it could lead to charges being laid on the wrong person, even if he meant no harm to his cousin.
Williams was sentenced to four months for the assault and criminal damage to his sister’s wall and three months for giving false details to be served concurrently, and four months accumulative for tampering with the ankle monitor.
With the added eight months imprisonment on his two-year sentence, Williams is still eligible for parole from June 3.
