Man tries to sell phone, stabbed by masked intruder

Laine Clark | March 7, 2023

Seeking refuge from the masked intruder with the knife, the man locked his front door and asked his wife to arm herself.

The man had been stabbed multiple times by Awadu Dade Mathios.

Wearing a hoodie and a mask, Dade Mathios was outside pounding on the door with a female co-offender trying to get in.

“The complainant told his wife to arm herself and get their child and roommate,” crown prosecutor Victoria Adams told Brisbane District Court on Tuesday.

Earlier the female co-offender had met the man at the Brisbane residence about 10pm to inspect three mobile phones advertised for sale in February 2022.

Dade Mathios arrived later, walking up the driveway in his disguise.

The female ran out of the house with the phones and the man gave chase but was knocked to the ground by Dade Mathios.

A fight broke out and the man took Dade Mathios’ backpack.

Then he noticed Dade Mathios had a knife.

The man tried to run back to his house but was punched and kicked by Dade Mathios, falling to the ground.

Dade Mathios then used the knife.

The man received five stab wounds ranging from 1.5cm to 5cm in length to his forehead, cheek, back and shoulders before getting back inside his house.

“It is through good luck not good management that the injuries to the complainant might not have been far more significant,” defence barrister John Cook said.

“It would have been an awfully frightening experience.”

Dade Mathios and the co-offender banged on the locked front door and tried to open it, entering a “standoff” with the man as they tried to retrieve the backpack.

They were later arrested nearby.

The man spent days in hospital.

“This man has suffered terribly,” Judge Michael Byrne said.

The offending occurred after Dade Mathios was given a notice to appear following his arrest for attempted armed robbery in December 2021.

He was part of a four-strong group that was armed with a hunting knife that tried to steal a woman’s car, only to run away when they discovered the vehicle was a manual.

“It would be funny if the offence was not so serious,” Judge Byrne said.

Ethiopia-born Dade Mathios is at risk of deportation and Mr Cook said Australian Border Force was aware of the matter.

Dade Mathios, 20, pleaded guilty to armed robbery in company with personal violence, malicious act with intent and attempted armed robbery.

He was sentenced to five years in jail and is eligible for parole in August, with 329 days in custody declared time served.