By Mark Russell
A pastry cook turned standover man has been jailed for three and a half years following a dispute over an iPad.
Michael Kyriacopoulos, 27, was found guilty by a County Court jury of blackmail and robbery charges after he tried to retrieve an iPad he believed had been stolen from a friend.
Judge Meryl Sexton said Kyriacopoulos and two other men confronted Dzenan Karamehmedovic at his home late at night on January 4, 2012, demanding he return the iPad.
‘‘Karamehmedovic denied that he knew anything about it and you forced him to strip off his clothes and sit naked,’’ Judge Sexton told Kyriacopoulos on Wednesday when jailing him for three and a half years with a non-parole period of two years.
‘‘You told the men who accompanied you to remove the television set, which you said was collateral to be held for the return of the iPad ... while you picked up a telephone and wallet and removed those from the house.’’
The judge said Kyriacopoulos, who had been using the drug ice as well as Xanax, again confronted Karamehmedovic later that same night at a nearby garage and demanded the return of the iPad.
Kyriacopoulos threatened Karamehmedovic by tapping a wrench lightly on his head before Karamehmedovic managed to run away.
‘‘Although Karamehmedovic later supplied you with an iPad, you said it was not the correct one and you did not return any of his items to him, with the television later found at a relative’s house and the telephone at your then girlfriend’s house,’’ the judge said.
‘‘It is clear from the verdict of the jury as to the blackmail that they were satisfied that your menacing behaviour and your demands at his house and at the garage were intended to frighten Karamehmedovic ...’’
Judge Sexton said the offences were serious because Karamehmedovic had been entitled to feel safe in his own home and he had been humiliated when forced to sit naked in front of a number of other people.
The judge said Kyriacopoulos later pleaded guilty to charges of possessing testosterone and trafficking Xanax.
Kyriacopoulos had been addicted to Xanax from the age of 16 and at one stage was taking 20 tablets a day. He had also been using up to one gram of ice up to three to four times a week.
Judge Sexton said she had received a number of references from Kyriacopoulos’ family and friends which showed that the person they knew was ‘‘far from the threatening man engaged in ‘standover’ tactics in January 2012’’.