A Tasmanian man who held a stranger at hammerpoint in a failed robbery attempt has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Alan Collier, 43, approached the victim from behind on a Kings Meadows street in October last year and grabbed him across the shoulder while demanding money, his wallet and phone.
Justice Robert Pearce said the victim initially thought Collier was someone he knew and turned around to find a complete stranger with a weapon – a hammer with a screwdriver taped to it.
The court heard Collier repeatedly asked the man for his belongings while telling him “you know what happens if you don’t hand over the money”.
Collier eventually pushed the man away, then lunged towards him with the weapon, saying “this is your lucky day, I don’t want to hurt you” before flicking him on the forehead with his finger and walking away.
Justice Pearce said after his arrest, Collier told police he was desperate for money and could not feed his family at the time.
The court heard Collier had no prior convictions, had held stable employment in the past and had been running his own handyman franchise before it failed, leaving him with substantial debts.
“The crime was committed from desperation rather than malice. To the extent that this is so, however, your desperation was at least in part of your own making through gambling and drug use,” Justice Pearce said.
“Your decision to commit this crime was spontaneous. You claim to have been carrying the weapon you had in your backpack for protection from others that had threatened you with a firearm, I infer for money you owed for drugs.”
Justice Pearce said the experience was terrifying and traumatising for the victim.
“His victim impact statement describes how frightened he was for himself and, indirectly, his partner. He feared for his life. He could not sleep for weeks,” he said.
The judge said the fact that the robbery attempt was unsuccessful does not reduce the seriousness of the crime.
“You are convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 18 months from today. I order that you not be eligible for parole until you have served half of that term,” Pearce said.
