A social housing tenant left neighbours terrified after blasting Hitler speeches and threatening passersby with a replica shotgun.
Andrew Cambouris, 56, terrorised his neighbours from his home in Manly, on Sydney‘s Northern Beaches.
Cambouris spent 10 years living at the Bridge Housing accommodation on Pittwater Road before his apparent meltdown in early May.
The spiral began when a noise complaint was made against Cambouris after he played loud music.
The 56-year-old assumed a neighbour living across the road was responsible and set about making his life hell.
‘My wife and son and I are exiting the property a couple of days later, he started shouting threats, “I’m gonna get you, I’m gonna stab youse”,’ the neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, told News Corp.
The neighbour’s wife came home by herself that night and Cambouris continued his threats.
However, the family initially wanted to avoid contacting police for fear of further aggravating him.
Andrew Cambouris (pictured) terrorised his neighbours with a fake gun and anti-Semitic rants for several weeks
Cambouris’ aggression continued to grow on May 16 when the neighbour and his son began setting up a CCTV camera outside their home.
The neighbour recalled Cambouris ‘screaming threats’ while holding what appeared to be a shotgun, which was later found to be fake.
The neighbour filmed as Cambouris yelled: ‘Ah film me, f*** you, get f***ed. You wanna die? I’ll f***ing kill you, f***wit.’
Police received the video and a formal statement from the neighbour and Cambouris was arrested.
He was charged with weapon offences as, under NSW, crimes with replication or imitation firearms carry similar penalties to those with real firearms.
Possessing a fake gun without a permit could result in a maximum of 14 years behind bars.
Cambouris was released on bail several days later under strict conditions.
Those included undergoing mandatory breathalyser checks and not crossing the road towards the neighbour or his family.
Bridge Housing is working to evict Cambouris from social housing on Pittwater Road (pictured) in Manly, north Sydney
While the neighbour felt uneasy about Cambouris’ return, he expected the 56-year-old would ‘quieten down’.
However, his rants took a frightening new turn on May 25.
Disturbing footage showed Cambouris hurling anti-Semitic abuse from his balcony, despite the neighbour not being Jewish.
‘Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! Heil Hitler! Kill all the Jews, ya f**king c***s!’ he was heard yelling.
The neighbour filmed the incident and called police but officers were unable to reach Cambouris as he’d barricaded himself inside his home.
‘They said, “Look, there’s not much we can do, he won’t come to the door and we can’t get access” and then left. That spurred him on even more,’ the neighbour said.
Cambouris later played audio from a Hitler speech at a Nuremberg rally, announced himself as the ‘Antichrist’, and called methamphetamine a ‘cure’.
‘Do you know the Nazis almost won World War II?’ Cambouris yelled during one rant.
Cambouris later played audio from a Hitler speech at a Nuremberg rally, announced himself as the ‘Antichrist’, and called methamphetamine a ‘cure’
‘Methamphetamine is the answer! But you must use it and not abuse it, or it will kill you. Paranoia will destroy ya!’
The neighbour enlisted the help of criminal barrister Peter Lavac on June 6 after Cambouris crossed the street towards him.
Mr Lavac attended Dee Why Police Station with the neighbour on June 9 and Cambouris was arrested the same day about 6.30pm.
He was charged with breach of bail and fronted Manly Local Court on June 11.
Cambouris pleaded guilty to the weapons charge and was remanded in custody.
He faced the same court again on July 9 and pleaded guilty to several other offences, including intimidating and assaulting police.
Cambouris will be sentenced on August 20.
However, the neighbour and his family are frightened of what will happen after Cambouris is sentenced.
‘My daughter was too terrified to come over. I had a cricket bat inside the door, we left [the house] as a family unit, we were genuinely in fear of our lives,’ he said.
In order for Cambouris to be evicted from Bridge Housing, the charity must submit a request to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Proceedings with the tribunal have begun and the case is listed for July 30.
