Prison is the only option for a man who committed a brazen daylight armed carjacking in Wendouree, a judge said.
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Bobby Van Jarden, 38, was sentenced at the Melbourne County Court on Thursday for the armed incident, which happened on March 7, 2023, as the victim was leaving work to get lunch.
The court was told Van Jarden approached the man with a knife as he was sitting and talking to a colleague through the window of his Holden Commodore station wagon at about 1.45pm.
Van Jarden went to the driver's side window and said "would you mind stepping out of the car for me", which the victim initially took as a joke.
Things escalated as Van Jarden smashed the driver's window, and began swiping the knife towards the victim, who was cut on his right hand.
During the attack, Van Jarden told the man "I'll stab you, I'll kill you", the court was told.
The victim crawled out of the passenger side door and left, as Van Jarden hopped into the station wagon and took it out onto Gillies Street North.
What followed was a high speed joy ride around Ballarat, which saw Van Jarden narrowly miss other cars, drive on the wrong side of the road, and reach a top speed of 184km/h.
The ordeal ended when the stolen station wagon ran out of petrol in Newlyn, where Van Jarden was soon arrested.
The whole incident was captured on dashcam footage in the front and rear of the car.
In the footage Van Jarden could be heard yelling to himself about the car jacking, his speeds, and the misbelief that police were able to control the car remotely.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated carjacking, reckless conduct endangering life and unlicensed driving at an earlier hearing in Ballarat.
At Thursday's sentencing hearing, Judge Liz Gaynor spoke on Van Jarden's "extremely difficult history".
The court was told Van Jarden was subject to childhood abuse after eight of his family members were killed in a house fire.
He left school in year eight, and began cannabis and ecstasy use from the age of 12.
Judge Gaynor said Van Jarden had a "long and concerning prior criminal history", both in New South Wales where he was born and in Victoria.
I accept that you have been jailed so often that you are probably institutionalised.
- Judge Liz Gaynor
A psychologist's report tendered with the court also spoke on Van Jarden's diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, complex bereavement disorder and psychosis.
Van Jarden's lawyers argued he fell into "exceptional circumstances" due to the combination of his mental health issues, drug addictions and childhood trauma - and therefore should be given something less than the minimum sentence of three years for aggravated carjacking.
Judge Gaynor said Van Jarden would have to get a lengthy sentence, as he posed too great a risk to community safety if released.
"The offending was so dangerous that I have to look at protection of the community as a major sentencing principle in dealing with you," the judge said.
"I accept that you have been jailed so often that you are probably institutionalised.
"What I am trying to make very clear is that the extent of the danger attached to your offending on that day is so high, that it overshadows other matters that I would ordinarily take into account in your favour."
Van Jarden was given a six year prison sentence with a four-and-a-half year non-parole period.
