It was a matter of trying to contain it and hoping it didn’t go off
- Dave Petrusma
A YOUNG Castlemaine ice user who allegedly waved a knife at police and assaulted an off duty officer has been told he has a chance to turn his life around.
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The 17-year-old, who can’t be named for legal reasons, held a knife to his chest in front of his mother and younger brother on Monday night, a court heard.
Police arrived and sprayed the youth with capsicum spray which failed to subdue him. Informant Leading Senior Constable Dave Petrusma said the boy had not threatened police, but was allegedly “waving the knife around”.
“It was like a time bomb, basically, it was a matter of trying to contain it and hoping it didn’t go off,” he said.
The incident followed an alleged assault on May 13 where the youth punched an off duty policeman in the face, the court heard.
He had also broken bail conditions by leaving the family home in an “extremely heightened, incredibly aggressive state” on May 16, before attending a police station.
He allegedly told police he would have killed anyone he bumped into.
His mother told the court she was not afraid of her son, but said his condition had recently deteriorated.
"When he's in the state, he's basically uncontrollable," she said.
"It appears that in the last week or 10 days or so there's been a bit of a shift in (him) ... something clicked."
The court heard the youth was intelligent but changed under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
In granting bail with strict conditions, Magistrate Lesley Fleming said the youth risked brain damage every time he used ice.
"You may as well start chopping off your limbs, because that's how you're disabling youself," she said.
“Your disintegration is commencing. You are dumbing yourself down. You could be on a disability pension at 20"
Ms Fleming encouraged the youth to turn his life around, which she said would be possible if he wanted to change. He will reappear before court on June 30.