THE man at the centre of an eight hour siege in Swan Hill in July has been sentenced to a jail term of 10 months and 63 days, with a non-parole period of four months.
Having already served a total of 79 days in custody, the man appeared before the Swan Hill Magistrates’ Court last week where he pleaded guilty to a string of offences dating back to February last year.
The court heard how the Victoria Police Critical Incident Response Team was flown in from Melbourne in a bid to resolve the issue.
During the siege the man, who was threatening to self harm, lunged at police with the knife and despite attempts to subdue him with capsicum spray, which had little effect, he was eventually overpowered when police deployed tear gas.
Following the incident the man was taken to hospital for a mental health assessment and when interviewed on July 29 denied his involvement in the incident.
“I didn’t do it,” he told police.
The court heard the man had reoffended on two separate occasions following the siege.
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian (26/10/12).
