Albany man jailed for assault over drug refusal, resisting police arrest and possessing stolen Fijian passport

An Albany man who violently assaulted his partner when she refused to give him drugs, attempted to escape police custody and was found with a stolen Fijian passport has been jailed. Kyron Jai Knapp, 26, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court via video link from Albany Regional Prison on Tuesday for sentencing on eight charges. He pleaded guilty to breach of bail during the appearance, with the charge having previously been in negotiations, having already been convicted of a further seven charges on January 13. These included attempted stealing, twice breaching a conditional suspended imprisonment order, aggravated common assault, possession of stolen or unlawfully obtained property, and obstructing public officers. Prosecutor Sgt Dylan Fisher told the court Knapp got into an argument with his partner over cannabis on October 13 last year outside a Lockyer home and he threatened her, demanding she give him her “dope”. She tried to back away from him, but he quickly advanced on her before punching her twice to the head and knocking her to the ground, where he pressed a knee into her hip to keep her down and continued punching her. Though she escaped without serious injury, Sgt Fisher said this did not negate the seriousness of Knapp’s violence. On November 7, police attended an address in Orana to arrest Knapp. He refused to open the door to let officers inside the house, and the front door had to be opened by force. Knapp tried to escape out a back door but was caught by officers and “heavily resisted” arrest — so much so that police had to tie his legs together to get him into the secure pod on the police car. On November 26, Sgt Fisher said Knapp rifled through an unlocked car on a street in McKail in the early hours of the morning, but did not steal anything. His actions were captured on CCTV camera and he was wearing the same clothing when police later arrested him. Sgt Fisher said around the same time, a wallet with miscellaneous cards, and a Fijian passport were stolen from a car in McKail. He said later on November 26 police were in Spencer Park conducting arrests for an unrelated matter and saw Knapp riding a bike in Spencer Park and moved to arrest him. He tried to escape as police pursued on foot, dumping both his bike and backpack during the chase. Inside the backpack, police found the stolen Fijian passport. They eventually found and arrested Knapp near the corner of Campbell Road and David Street, but he was declared unfit to participate in a police interview at the time. Defence lawyer Lillie Carney said Knapp had been taken by surprise and had been scared to open the door when police showed up at his house in Orana, and was not sure how the stolen passport had ended up in his backpack. Magistrate Rosemarie Myers said the assault on his partner was the worst of Knapp’s offending, and targeted attacks to a person’s head were always treated seriously by the court. She said she was satisfied several of Knapp’s charges warranted immediate imprisonment and had triggered his suspended imprisonment order. Knapp was sentenced to nine months in prison, backdated to December 11, 2025, and was handed a global fine of $1200.