Vigilante couple are jailed after they attacked two teenagers they wrongly suspected of breaking into their scrap yard
- Two boys, Edward Gibson and Sam Prettejohn, were accused of trespassing
- Nicole Jettner, 44, and Russell McDonough, 60, chased after the teenagers
- Jettner threatened the boys by driving just inches beside them on a highway
- McDonough repeatedly punched Mr Gibson, who already had a broken arm
- Jettner's sentence was suspended and McDonough must serve three months
A vigilante couple have been sentenced after they attacked two teenagers they wrongly suspected of breaking into their scrap yard.
Nicole Jettner, 44, and her partner Russell McDonough, 60, took the law into their own hands when they thought two teenage boys had trespassed on their metal recycling business in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, on January 25, 2017.
One of the teenagers, then 16-year-old Edward Gibson, was repeatedly punched and had a baseball bat thrown at his car while he was driving.
Nicole Jettner (left), 44, and her partner Russell McDonough (right), 60, wrongly accused the teenage boys of trespassing their Alice Springs metal recycling business
McDonough was sentenced to three years in jail, suspended after three months served, while Jetter's two-and-a-half jail sentence was fully suspended.
The pair were found guilty of causing serious harm to Mr Gibson, NT News reported.
The two teenagers, Edward Gibson and Sam Prettejohn, were driving in a car which got stuck near Jettner and McDonough's scrapyard.
The pair chased after the boys after being alerted by a security guard, with McDonough wielding a baseball bat as Jettner was driving.
Jettner threatened the boys by driving just inches beside them on Stuart Highway, after she was instructed by McDonough.
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Mr Gibson crashed after Jettner sped ahead of the teenagers and stopped in the middle of the road.
McDonough then threw the baseball bat at the boys' car.
The 16-year-old, who had a broken arm, was repeatedly punched by McDonough.
Jettner and McDonough's criminal acts were described as 'misguided and unlawful vigilante behaviour' by Crown Prosecutor Stephen Robson.
The court heard Jettner, who was a churchgoing woman and used to work in court, did not have her licence disqualified.
Jettner threatened the boys by driving just inches beside them on Stuart Highway (pictured), after she was instructed by McDonough
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