More jail time for Albany prison riot ringleader

A 21-year-old maximum-security prisoner who was “the match that lit the fuse” of a two-hour riot at the Albany Regional Prison has been jailed for more than three years. For two hours on the evening of September 19, 2018, six prisoners caused the lockdown of their unit in regional WA’s only maximum-security prison. The group was reportedly unhappy with responses to requests to be moved to a prison closer to Perth. During the riot, plumbing, windows, lighting and CCTV cameras were smashed and the unit was flooded with sewerage water. Mattresses were pulled off beds and used as barricades against the unit’s steel grille, while prison staff were forced to retreat after being pelted with smashed pieces of porcelain. The riot was eventually suppressed after specialised officers armed with tasers, shotguns and riot gear were called in and deployed flashbang explosives. Four of Gary Joe Garlett-Exell’s five co-offenders have already been handed prison sentences for their roles in the riot. In the WA District Court last Friday, Garlett-Exell, 23, was given a sentence more than twice the length of the sentences given to his co-offenders. Garlett-Exell was sentenced to 39 months behind bars for his role in the riot after changing his pleas to guilty on the first day of his trial last week. The plea changes came after State prosecutors switched two charges of kidnapping to threats to kill. Garlett-Exell had also maintained a plea of not guilty to rioters causing damage until last week. Towards the end of the riot, Garlett-Exell told two fellow prisoners “get out here or I will kill you” in an effort to get them to join the revolt. “(They) had tried to stay out of the conflict by remaining in their cell,” Judge Linda Petrusa said during last Friday’s hearing. “But when you made this threat to kill them, they, believing that you meant it, left their cell. “They were very frightened. “They even knelt on the ground. “They returned to their cell some 10-20 seconds later.” The court was told that during the riot, Garlett-Exell led negotiations with prison authorities. “You, in fact, were then the match that lit the fuse that led to this riot, and having lit the match, you participated actively throughout,” Justice Petrusa said. “This was then a deliberate and premeditated enterprise. Your conduct, together with that of your co-accused, resulted in extensive damage to public property, the cost of which was no doubt considerable.” Before handing down her sentence, she told the court Garlett-Exell’s “deprived upbringing” was a mitigating factor. During proceedings, the court was told Garlett-Exell had left school at 11, had issues with stable accommodation, and started injecting methamphetamine at just 12 years old. Garlett-Exell was made eligible for parole and had his sentence backdated to July 14, 2019.