Hamilton man charged with threatening to pour bleach down woman's throat

Hamish Cameron, 44, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to making threats and weapon offences.

He was arrested on Thursday night after a police whereabouts alert had been issued last month.

The court heard the alert related to offending on February 14 when Cameron was intercepted walking near Hamilton's Kenneth Street shortly before 11pm.

He was wearing gloves, safety glasses, and a bag on his front and back.

He told police the bag contained a jerry can of fuel, bleach and a small axe.

Cameron said he was en route to visit a woman who he believed owed him money.

He told police he intended to pour bleach in the woman's eyes and mouth and set fire to her face.

Cameron was detained under the Mental Health Act and conveyed to Hamilton Base Hospital where he returned an alcohol reading approaching .3 - six times the legal driving limit.

He claims to have no memory of the incident.

After his release from hospital, he sent menacing text message to the female victim's ex-partner, stating he was "trained in commands" and he would attend the man's house while he was sleeping.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Anzela Fitzgerald said it was not until police went back over body-worn camera footage that they realised Cameron's threats on February 14 were made to a specific person.

She said the man was well-known for roaming the street with weapons and making generalised threats, although the court heard he had never been charged with that offending.

She said police had "real concerns about what (Cameron) has the potential to do" and that the Fixated Threat Unit had been advised of the incident

Kerry Schroeder, of Victoria Legal Aid, said the man's memory was faulty when he drank alcohol in excess.

But magistrate Franz Holzer said it sounded like "more than just alcohol".

"It sounds like there is an underlying issue, or issues," he said.

The court heard the man could be suffering psychosis but had not been forensically assessed.

Ms Schroeder urged the court to consider a therapeutic community correction order, or to have the man assessed by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health.

But the court heard there was delay of at least eight weeks for an assessment.

The magistrate said he could not proceed with sentencing without more information about the man.

He remanded Cameron in custody and ordered he be assessed for a correction order.

Mr Holzer urged Ms Schroeder to collate as much material, both personal and medical, as possible before the next court date.

Cameron will appear in court again on April 29.

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