A victim said he lost his faith in humanity after an offender held a shard of glass to his neck while demanding he open the cash register and yelling his name, making a 'cry for help'.
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The 20-year-old bottle shop worker said it was sad to know people with mental health and addiction issues were not getting the help they needed, leading to desperation and incidents like he was victim to.
"As long as these kinds of people don't get the help they need there will be more incidents like these," the man wrote in his victim impact statement.
"It makes me frustrated that the cops didn't seem to take on my suggestion to make sure the offender got the help he needs."
Owen Morrison, 18, had drunk 12 cans of alcohol before driving as a learner without a supervisor to the Rumerz Tavern in Ballarat on January 2, 2022 about 10.45pm.
He entered the store, asked if there were any toilets, then returned to his car where he waited for five minutes, which he says was until people left the store.
Ultimately what he have here is a very young person who clearly has been going through a period of deterioration.
- Daniel McGlone, defence barrister
Morrison re-entered the store, went behind the register, put his arm around the victim's shoulder and neck and held a shard of glass to his neck while making demands for him to open the cash register.
"He repeated a number of times my name is Owen Morrison, I need help," crown prosecutor David Cordy said at the County Court in Ballarat on Friday.
Morrison ran out of the store and drove off. About 2.30am he called police asking for a welfare check. He said he was drunk and his brain had been 'fried'.
He was arrested after police noticed he was wearing the same clothes as shown in the CCTV footage for the attempted armed robbery.
Morrison told police his memories of the night were 'blurry', that he was 'blind drunk' and thought 'f**k it, I will get it for free'.
He said he planned to carry out the attempted armed robbery. He said he smashed a bottle at home to create the glass shard because he did not have a knife.
Police asked Morrison why he held the glass shard to the worker's neck and he said it was for the 'thrill of the rush really'.
"I wanted to see what it was like, robbing it, holding it up to his neck and wanting free drinks and money," Morrison told police.
Morrison was arrested and spent time in adult custody until he was released on bail on March 17, only to be re-arrested five days later for breaching his bail conditions by drinking alcohol.
The court heard Morrison had no criminal history and had pleaded guilty at an early stage.
Defence barrister Daniel McGlone said Morrison had not been diagnosed but a psychologist found he had symptoms consistent with ADHD.
"Ultimately what we have here is a very young person who clearly has been going through a period of deterioration," he said.
"That deterioration would appear to be specifically referable to some issues of self esteem and self identity and some mental health issues exacerbated by poly-substance abuse, principally though alcohol.
"He presents himself as someone needing help and out of control in terms of his alcohol consumption."
Mr McGlone said Morrison wanted to return to work as a brick layer and would live with his father upon his release from prison.
Judge David Sexton said it was 'undesireable' and 'concerning' that Morrison was in adult custody.
"Objectively he is an 18-year-old with no criminal history, it must surely have been a shock to the system," he said.
The court heard Morrison was not able to have visits from his parents who were 'sick with worry', due to COVID-19 restrictions in the prison system.
Mr Cordy said it would have been a terrifying experience for the victim; the victim said in his impact statement he felt fear and anxiety and struggled to sleep.
But Mr Cordy said he saw Morrison's offending as a 'cry for help' and to send him back to prison would be 'unreasonable'.
Morrison pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery, contravening a bail condition, driving without an L plate and driving without a supervising driver on Friday.
He was released on bail and will return to court in late June for sentencing.
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