Seven-hour siege

A man at the centre of a seven-hour police siege in Koondrook last year has been sentenced to 150 hours of community service.

The man, 36, appeared in the Swan Hill Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to four charges of threatening to kill police and a separate charge of driving on a suspended licence.

The court heard the man was visiting family in Koondrook on December 11 last year and spent the afternoon and night of the incident drinking alone in a local pub.

Police Prosecutor John Lyons said the man, who was 35 at the time of the incident, returned to the home and went to bed but woke up around midnight “extremely intoxicated” and in an agitated state.

Concerned family members called police and removed themselves from the premises after an argument between the two parties escalated.

“If police come I’m going to stab them, there will be blood, I’m going out with a bang,” he said.

The police report said the man continued to drink and armed himself with several kitchen knives during the siege and made threats towards police.

“If police come in I will stab him or they will have to shoot me. Bang bang,” he said.

A critical incident response team was called from Melbourne to remove the man from the premises.

Towards the end of the siege he walked to the side of the house armed with a large steel rake and several knives, where police used a bean bag gun to subdue him.

In court on Wednesday the man’s defence lawyer said he had little recollection of the event.

Magistrate Jenny Tregent told the man that a significant amount of police resources had been committed to the incident.

“I accepted you were in an emotionally fragile state — you would have terrified your family,” she said.

“It was a serious situation. You don’t seem to think you have a drinking problem, but you do.”

The man was issued with a community corrections order of 150 hours community service and will undergo assessments for the suitability of mental health and drug and alcohol courses.