Following Matthew Hill's arrest at the service station, police found a 23-centimetre tomahawk concealed down his pants.

On Thursday at the Ballarat Magistrates Court, Hill pleaded guilty to eight charges stemming from the incidents on May 13 and 14.

The court was told Hill and an unknown male attended the Delacombe business at 11pm on May 13 and filled a wheelie bin and four trolleys with $5000 worth of electrical items.

But Hill activated the alarm and the pair left the property, leaving the electrical items behind.

One hour later, Hill stole a Mitsubishi Pajero from another Delacombe property and drove through a fence causing $1200 damage.

The court was told a police sergeant saw Hill driving behind him at a fast rate of speed along Skipton Street.

He then drove along Sebastopol's streets at a fast speed and drove on the wrong side of the road, twice at the police sergeant and once at taxi, swerving at the last moment.

Hill entered the Sebastopol BP service station where he put $60 worth of fuel in the stolen car.

When he entered the store, he demanded the attendant give him cigarettes and empty the cash register. Hill then demanded she fill an empty shopping bag with cash, cigarettes, drinks and chocolate.

In fear of her safety, the attendant filled the bag with $781 worth of items and handed it to Hill. She pressed the duress alarm and locked the doors with Hill inside the store.

Shortly after, police arrived and arrested Hill.

Defence lawyer Matt McLellan said his client had no relevant criminal history and a good employment history but his ice use had skyrocketed to a daily habit.

Mr McLellan said Hill tried to calm the service station incident, telling the attendant he did "not mean to cause any harm, but I want all your smokes in red".

He described his offending as a "significant fall from grace".

Mr McLellan urged the court to release Hill from custody and assess him for a community corrections order.

But magistrate Ron Saines remanded Hill for sentencing on Tuesday.

Hill pleaded guilty to eight charges, including robbery, burglary, recklessly endangering life, car theft and unlicensed driving.

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