Adelaide Man Avoids Jail for Setting Up Wire Traps on Bike Path

An Adelaide man has received a suspended sentence for setting up wire traps along a bike path, injuring several cyclists in the process.

Levi Michael Young-Henderson, 20, of Noarlunga Downs, pleaded guilty to two counts of acting likely to cause harm and four counts of damaging property in relation to incidents on January 10 and 13, 2025.

The court heard that Young-Henderson had strung wire across the bike path that runs alongside the Southern Expressway, at Hackham West. In the first incident, three male cyclists were "knocked off their bikes while travelling at approximately 35km/h" and sustained "severe grazing". All three bikes were "destroyed".

In the second incident, a female rider escaped injury, but the handlebars of her bike were damaged. The court was told that police had obtained footage from Young-Henderson's mobile phone of the wire, accompanied by an "emoji of a devil and the words 'I'm so evil' written underneath the video".

"We say this is a significant matter. It's serious, it's placed a number of members of the public at risk of serious harm and the defendant's actions have caused [damage] in excess of … $50,000 worth of bikes, when they were bought," the prosecutor said.

Young-Henderson's total sentence came to 11 months and five days behind bars, but was suspended upon him entering a bond of good behaviour for two years.