'That guy has a knife': Man who committed stabbing, attempted carjacking wants drug treatment order

A man who was found lying under a tree after he committed a stabbing and tried to carjack an Uber driver wants to be sentenced to a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order, a court has heard.

William James Bowman, a 22-year-old from Oxley, pleaded guilty to charges of wounding and attempted aggravated robbery before appearing in the ACT Supreme Court for a sentencing hearing on Monday (9 October).

Court documents say an Uber driver had just picked up a female passenger from the Abode Hotel in Phillip around 7 pm on 19 July 2022 when Bowman approached and got into the front passenger seat of the Toyota Camry.

“Mate this is not your ride. I was already with a ride. I’m going,” the driver told him.

“Whose ride is this? Whose ride is this?” Bowman replied.

He demanded the keys to the car and yelled at the driver to get out, before grabbing his arm and trying to punch him multiple times.

The driver got out of the car and tried to walk towards the hotel, but Bowman followed and ran at him with a knife.

“Help me, that guy has a knife,” the driver yelled as he ran while Bowman tried to chase him.

Meanwhile, the female passenger got out of the Uber and went back into the hotel.

Not long after failing to catch up with the driver, Bowman approached a Skoda Kamiq that was parked in the carpark of the nearby Hellenic Club.

The driver of this car was sitting in his vehicle when Bowman opened his door and started yelling.

He couldn’t understand what Bowman was saying to him and tried to calm him down, saying “l haven’t done anything to you”. But Bowman then stabbed at the man’s chest several times.

He pushed his attacker away and locked the doors before Bowman ran away. He was left with a small stab wound to his chest.

Police arrived shortly afterwards to find Bowman lying under a tree nearby and arrested him before finding a knife down his pant leg.

He spent 250 days in custody before coming to court for his sentencing hearing on Monday.

His lawyer told Acting Justice Richard Refshauge her client had been in custody for quite some time and she wanted him to be sentenced to a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order.

“Do you think he’s able to abstain?” the acting justice questioned.

He remanded Bowman in custody and will sentence him on 16 October.