A masked man armed with an axe when he attempted to rob two Ballarat milk bars is facing time behind bars after pleading guilty on Wednesday.
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Konrad Szalontai’s two-hour spree started on September 11, 2016, at 2.30pm when he attempted to rob the Joseph Street milk bar.
Wearing a silver mask and armed with a tomahawk, the 27-year-old demanded money from the shop’s owner before he was chased out.
Fifteen minutes later, Szalontai threatened a second milk bar worker in Kline Street. He banged the axe on the till before the frightened shop owner jumped the counter and ran from the store.
Szalontai tried to force the till open with the axe before filling a bag with 10 to 12 packets of cigarettes. He then rummaged through an attached house before leaving in a Holden vehicle.
Just over an hour later Szalontai entered an Elaine property armed with a samurai sword. He used the sword to break into cupboards in a garage before threatening the owner.
At 4.25pm Szalontai attended another Elaine property. He told the occupant, who had returned home with her four-month-old daughter, he wanted fuel for his car.
Szalontai stole the woman’s purse from her car before leaving the property. Police located him at 5.20pm in Meredith with the mask and weapons inside the car.
He told police it was his fourth or fifth day using the drug ice. He was 12 days into a community corrections order when he went on the spree.
Szalontai pleaded guilty at the County Court at Ballarat on Wednesday to six charges, including armed robbery, attempted armed robbery and aggravated burglary.
Defence lawyer Manny Brennan said the reason for his client’s spree was to try and get fuel and cash to travel to Castlemaine. He said prior to the offending, Szalontai’s drug use became heavy due to a childhood trauma.
“What we are dealing with is a man whose situation is unravelling in a desperate state … his decision to use drugs has become impaired,” Mr Brennan said.
“It’s my submission Mr Szalontai’s moral culpability is somewhat reduced.”
Mr Brennan said Szalontai was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and had borderline personality disorder traits.
The Crown prosecutor submitted Szalontai be sentenced to immediate prison with a fixed parole period. Judge Gavan Meredith is expected to sentence Szalontai on Friday.