A serial criminal who slashed a BMW owner's arm with a tomahawk while trying to steal the car in an affluent Canberra suburb has been jailed for nearly three-and-a-half years.
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Marley Hall appeared in the ACT Supreme Court for sentence on Tuesday, having previously pleaded guilty to 10 charges.
Justice Michael Elkaim said the 25-year-old had committed nearly all of the offences, which included assault, car theft and burglary, during a single crime spree.
The judge said Hall's rampage began in the early hours of December 30, 2018, when he drove a stolen Hyundai i30 to a liquor store in Bonner. Hall and two others tried to break through the front door, but failed and left.
About two hours later, now armed with a silver tomahawk, Hall kicked down the door of a Chisholm liquor store. Together with a co-offender, he stole four bottles of alcohol and two empty cash drawers.
From there, he went to a Yarralumla cafe and smashed his way through some glass to steal $400 from the till.
But the most serious offending occurred about 7.30am the same morning, after Hall had stolen a Hyundai Santa Fe in Farrer.
He drove the stolen vehicle to O'Malley, followed closely by a co-offender, and spotted a BMW outside a house.
When Hall broke into this car, the owner confronted him and what Justice Elkaim described as "a scuffle" ensued.
"[Hall] swung the tomahawk at the [BMW] owner, which caused lacerations to his left forearm and armpit," the judge said.
Eventually, Hall fled the scene in the Santa Fe.
Justice Elkaim said on Tuesday that he had seen photographs of the wounds inflicted by Hall, which were thankfully superficial.
"However, that does not mean that the attack was not terrifying for the victim," the judge said.
The victim, in a statement to the court, said he had been scared for his life during the incident.
"This has left me with emotional and physical scars I will carry with me for the rest of my life," the man wrote.
"Although I will always be traumatised by the attack, it is the impact on my partner and children that has changed their lives forever.
"Due to the emotional distress to our family, we are selling our home as we fear for our safety every single day."
In sentencing, Justice Elkaim said Hall "did not have a positive upbringing" and began abusing alcohol and illicit drugs at about 14 years of age.
He said Hall had been given opportunities to rehabilitate himself, but had failed to take advantage of those.
Nevertheless, the judge indicated that he still held some hope of Hall changing his ways.
"The offender does seem to have appreciated the effect of his actions on his victims, and in particular the effect on the victim who was attacked with the tomahawk," he said.
Justice Elkaim ultimately sentenced Hall to three years and five months behind bars, with a non-parole period of 22 months.
With time already served, Hall will become eligible for release in March 2022.
