STATE OF TASMANIA v JAKE RAYMOND PHILLIPS 24 APRIL 2026
COMMENTS ON PASSING SENTENCE ESTCOURT J
The defendant Jake Raymond Phillips, now aged 25 years old has pleaded guilty to an indictment containing one count of being prepared for the commission of a crime and one count of perverting justice together with a summary charge on complaint no 14036/2025 of unlawfully possessing a dangerous article.
At approximately 6:20am on 5 November 2025 members of Tasmania Police received information that there was a male in the carpark of the Aquatic Centre trying to open car doors and acting suspiciously. The male was wearing dark camouflage pants, a blue hooded jumper, a baseball cap and a face covering.
At approximately 6:40am the defendant, who matched the above description, was intercepted on Collins Street, Hobart by members of Tasmania Police. The defendant identified himself as Jack Cordwell to at least two police officers. He was searched and police located one pair of bolt cutters held in the waistband of his trousers, one set of knuckle dusters and one glass breaking car safety device which is count 2 on complaint 14036/2025. I have also been asked to deal and have accepted a plea of guilty through counsel.
The defendant was cautioned at the scene and he advised police that the tools were for his own scooter and that the knuckle dusters were “in case someone wants to hurt me“.
The defendant was arrested and bailed under the name of Jack Cordwell. While at the police station, he formally identified himself as Jack Cordwell on a number of occasions, including while his fingerprints were being taken. When completing the bail paperwork he provided his name as Jack Cordwell with a date of birth of 12 January and advised he had no fixed abode. He signed the police bail document.
He later admitted to police that he had not tried to correct any details when he spoke to them because he thought he might have got away with the offences.
The defendant was sexually assaulted as a child by a family friend, which understandably traumatised him. He was also diagnosed in his late teens with Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), ADHD, and Tourette’s. He chose to stop the medication he was on as he did not like the feeling it gave him. A friend introduced him to marijuana which assisted him but that ultimately led him to different friendship groups who all used methylamphetamine and he was introduced to that drug. I am told that the unresolved trauma compounded with his neurodiversity led him to use illicit substances which in turn led him to commit dishonesty offences.
Since being brought into custody the defendant sees his mother every Sunday and she speaks to him every day, sometimes several times a day. His mother and grandmother believe that he is embracing a new future and has indicated he wishes to stay away from the life that led him to where he is. He has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and is accepting his behaviour, but he is making the most of his time in custody to consolidate his efforts to start afresh.
A number of outstanding charges against him were resolved on 24 March 2026. He has a release date of 8 May 2026.
The offence of perverting the course justice is a serious offence as it strikes at the integrity of the justice system.
The defendant is convicted of the offences to which he has pleaded guilty and I impose a single sentence of six months imprisonment, which given the defendant’s particular circumstances I wholly suspend on condition that he commit no offence punishable by imprisonment for a period of 12 months from today.