Four hours at gunpoint: man admits hostage ordeal after drug binge

A 31-year-old Brisbane man has pleaded guilty to holding a woman hostage for up to five hours at gunpoint following a four-day methamphetamine bender, in a disturbing case heard this week in district court.

Steven Anthony Salafia's violent escalation began with romantic rejection during a one-year friendship. The woman repeatedly refused his advances and eventually blocked him on social media—a rejection that appears to have triggered the incident.

After being told to leave her house on several occasions, Salafia returned one evening in January 2021 armed with a firearm. Prosecutors told the court he appeared intoxicated and erratic, immediately threatening to shoot both the woman and her partner. "I should blow your f---ing head off," he told them, according to court evidence.

The woman attempted to defuse the situation by getting Salafia to leave, but instead allowed him into her car—a decision that would lead to a harrowing ordeal. With his finger on the trigger, Salafia pointed the gun directly at the woman and ordered her to drive to Chermside in Brisbane's north.

Judge Katherine McGinness noted the woman "shook and cried" during the drive to his house, where Salafia appeared to load the gun before keeping her confined in the vehicle for four to five hours. During this extended hostage situation, his behaviour became increasingly unstable. He threatened to kill her while simultaneously declaring his love and apologising. At one point, he placed the gun to his own throat and asked the woman to pull the trigger and end his life.

Throughout the ordeal, Salafia warned of engaging in a shootout with police. Each time the woman begged to return home to her children—a particularly distressing detail that underscores the psychological torment of the situation—he would point the gun at her and become agitated.

When Salafia went inside his house, the woman seized the opportunity to escape. Police arrested him at home and found a sawn-off shotgun. Salafia told officers he had been awake for four days continuously during an ice bender, with no sleep in 96 hours. This extreme substance abuse appeared to significantly amplify his volatile and dangerous behaviour.

The court heard that Salafia had experienced a very traumatic upbringing and had accumulated an extensive criminal history. Judge McGinness found there was "significant risk of physical harm to the woman because of Salafia's intoxication and the weapon."

Salafia pleaded guilty to all charges, a decision that Judge McGinness recognised as demonstrating acceptance of responsibility. She noted that his guilty pleas spared the woman from having to testify in court and relive the traumatic experience.

The judge imposed a head sentence of four years imprisonment, which was suspended after accounting for the 493 days Salafia had already spent in custody since his arrest. This means he will not serve the sentence unless he breaches the conditions of his release.