Man jailed for Long Gully Post Office attempted armed robbery, recklessly causing injury

William Battye, 27, appeared in the County Court in Melbourne on Friday.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of attempted armed robbery and one charge of recklessly causing injury.

Judge Michael Cahill described the offending as "violent and frightening", but brief.

"You were in his shop for 30 seconds," he said.

The Judge said Battye asked for a term of imprisonment rather than a community corrections order.

"(Battye) said with his previous experience, he feared he would not be able to comply with the terms of a community corrections order," Judge Cahill said.

"A community corrections order would not be easy for you. With time to reflect in jail, I hope you would work to be in a positive state of mind."

The court heard on the evening of November 2, 2018 the manager of the Long Gully Post Office was working alone in the store.

Battye entered the shop with a metal pole concealed inside his pants, while the manager was sitting behind the counter. They were the only two people in the shop.

As Battye walked towards the counter, he pulled out the metal pole from his tracksuit pants and demanded the manager hand over money.

Battye banged the pole on the counter a number of times and attempted to jump over it.

As he did, the manager pushed him back and opened the door which separated the counter from the shop.

As the manager came towards him, Battye struck him in the upper body with the pole. The manager then grabbed one end of the pole to try and disarm him.

During the struggle, Battye used his free hand to grab the manager's neck and pushed him into some shelving.

The manager lost balance and fell to the ground near the front door.

Battye put his knee on the manager's chest to keep him to the ground and punched him once to his face.

Battye then dropped the pole and ran out the front door. The manager picked up the pole and ran after him. The victim went next door to get help and a shop worker called triple-0.

The court heard the manager suffered bruising to his nose, right eye, neck, chest, upper abdomen, left hand, right arm, left shoulder and back.

He also received swelling to the left side of his head and a cut to his lower lip.

The manager was taken to hospital and was discharged that night.

He returned to that hospital the next day with dizziness and weakness, and remained overnight.

Police located Battye in Kangaroo Flat on November 15, 2018.

Officers told him he was under arrest and he ran a short distance before he stopped and surrendered himself into police custody.

He spent a night in the cells at the Bendigo Police Station because he was deemed unfit for interview due to methamphetamine use.

Battye was interviewed the following day where he admitted to the offending.

He told police his drug dealer had threatened violence against his family unless he repaid an accumulated $5000 drug debt.

The court heard Battye told police he had consumed alcohol and methamphetamine in the hours before the attack.

In his police interview, Battye said he knew his victim would have been terrified and scared for his life. He said it was the biggest, stupidest decision he had ever made.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the shop manager said he was fearful he would be attacked again.

The victim said since the attack, he had been anxious and tired at work, while impatient and irritated at home.

"Any armed robbery attempt is inherently serious," Judge Cahill said.

"I've watched the CCTV footage a number of times and it shows (Battye) was the initial aggressor."

The court heard Battye had an intellectual disability that would have compromised his ability to think through a problem and make appropriate judgements.

The defence counsel submitted Battye's offending was at the lower range of seriousness because it was spontaneous rather than premeditated.

The defence also deemed it unsophisticated because Battye did not disguise himself during the attack, he knew his victim, and he dropped the incriminating weapon at the scene.

But Prosecutor David Cordy said it was an objectively serious incident.

"It was a nasty, violent attack where the victim was vulnerable working alone," he said.

Judge Cahill said he found the offending was at the lower end of seriousness because Battye was the only offender and the incident was over within 30 seconds.

The Judge said he accepted Battye's early guilty plea as a sign of remorse and accepting responsibility for his actions.

Judge Cahill said Battye's moral culpability was also reduced due to his diagnosed intellectual disability and disrupted upbringing.

Battye was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison, with a non parole period of one year and six months. He has already served 323 days in pre-sentence detention.

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