THE man behind a vicious and senseless attack on a complete stranger, Jason Waack, arrived back on Victorian soil yesterday to serve the start of an 18-month jail sentence for his crime.
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Ballarat detectives flew into Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport yesterday afternoon after successfully extraditing Waack from South Australia.
The extradition followed a recent Victorian Court of Appeal decision, overturning Waack's original walk to freedom.
The Court of Appeal sentenced Waack to 18 months' jail, with a 12-month non-parole, after finding the original suspended sentence was ''manifestly inadequate''.
Waack spent last night in the Ballarat police cells, awaiting his transfer to an unknown Victorian jail to serve the remainder of the sentence.
A hand-cuffed Waack caught a domestic flight into Melbourne airport yesterday afternoon.
Airport staff organised for Waack to exit the plane after all other passengers had been cleared of the aircraft.
He was escorted across the tarmac via a rear exit flanked by Ballarat detectives and airport security officers.
His handcuffed hands were covered by his coat as he walked through the crowded airport.
Detectives said Waack, 20, formerly of Smythes Creek, caused no trouble during the flight, which was almost full of passengers.
He flew Qantas flight QF482, landing at 2.15pm.
Waack had closely cropped bleached hair and was dressed in a hooded red sweat top and baggy blue jeans.
He walked calmly between two detectives into the waiting CIU vehicle.
Waack, who was last night in the Ballarat station police cells, now waits to be transferred to an unknown Victorian jail to serve his sentence.
When asked at Melbourne Airport what he thought of his jail sentence, Waack said: ''Oh ... it's alright.''
When asked if he was happy with it, (his sentence), Waack answered:
''Yeah ... it's a holiday.''
He gazed straight ahead as he walked through the airport.
There had been a hold-up with extraditing Waack to face his charges after the South Australian Department of Public Prosecutions took more than a week to approve the extradition request from Ballarat detectives. This was because he faced such serious charges there.
South Australian police have charged Waack with aggravated burglary, assault and firearm charges.
Waack attacked a stranger on a Sebastopol street more than 15 months ago, putting him in hospital for 13 days.
