A Warrnambool man sliced another man with an industrial knife and stole three long-arm rifles during a week-long crime spree, a court has heard.
Todd Smedts, 34, of McConnell Street, pleaded guilty in Melbourne County Court on August 12 to recklessly causing injury, attempted armed robbery, burglary, theft and possessing a traffickable quantity of firearms.
The court heard Smedts attended a Naringal property on June 22, 2019 with a 31-year-old male co-accused and two females.
The two men were in the back of a vehicle which left Warrnambool about 8pm.
Upon arrival they forced entry to the house before stealing two firearm safes.
One was about 1.5 metres tall, weighed 90 kilograms and was secured to the timber floor with screws.
The men drilled through the bottom of the safe, which contained three long-arm rifles and various boxes of ammunition.
The other smaller safe contained a gun-cleaning cloth and other personal items. It was later dumped in a recycling bin at a residential property in Warrnambool's Menzies Street.
The large safe was found at a property in Woodford's Bridge Road.
The firearms were never recovered.
The court heard Smedts intended to sell the firearms and a search of his phone later showed he'd researched the value of the stolen items.
Then on June 26, four days after the firearm burglary, Smedts attended a service station in Altona North, south-west of Melbourne's CBD.
A male victim had driven to the same car park to buy three Apple laptops and an iPhone from a third party for $10,000.
The third party was known to both men.
The court heard Smedts jumped into the front passenger seat of the victim's vehicle and sliced him to the left of his face and wrist with an industrial Stanley knife.
He tried to grab the man's bag, which contained the cash, while shouting "I want money!"
The victim threatened to contact police, Smedts froze and then fled the scene.
Smedts was arrested by the Victoria Police Special Operations Group at a Warrnambool BP service station the following day.
Prosecutor Joanne Piggott said the offending was "really quite frightening", particularly the home intrusion involving firearm theft.
Andrew Jackson, representing Smedts, said his client had a long-standing issue with drug abuse.
But he said Smedts had previously remained offence-free for eight years, citing abstinence from methamphetamine and other drugs.
"When you look at the criminal record, there's significant gaps between 2006 and 2013 where (Smedts) is working and not in the grip of his addiction," Mr Jackson said.
He urged the court to consider a sentence involving rehabilitation.
Smedts will be sentenced on Friday.
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Jessica Howard
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
Email: jessica.howard@warrnamboolstandard.com.au
