A man "declared war" with a one-man police station officer at Penshurst after his car was impounded for drink-driving.
The 62-year-old man threatened and harassed the officer in the 24 hours after his car was confiscated.
He loitered outside the station, yelled abuse in the early hours of the morning and graffitied threatening words on nearby signs and footpaths.
At one point the man told the officer to "consider this a declaration of war".
The man was arrested on November 18, 2023.
He pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on November 20, to stalking and other related offences.
A lawyer for the man told the court her client suffered significant mental health issues and was "quite unwell" at the time of the offending.
She said he had spent many years paying off his car and he was angry about it being impounded.
She said the man had no intention to hurt the police officer but accepted his conduct was threatening and was considered stalking.
The lawyer said the man had pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.
The man told the court he was not a violent man.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon at Hamilton Magistrates Court on November 1.
He was fined $1000.
Magistrate John Lesser said the man had pleaded guilty to serious charges.
He said the police officer was doing a public duty and was entitled to do that without being harassed.
There is a heightened awareness of police safety after Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said he would visit a Warrnambool woman after her son, 53-year-old policeman Jason Doig, was fatally shot in rural South Australia late last week.
Meanwhile, a 42-year-old Cobden man was arrested on November 17 and charged with high-end driving offences, including reckless conduct endangering serious injury.
He has a long and colourful criminal history, which resulted in him serving a number of jail terms.
The man appeared in the same court where bail was not opposed and he was released back into the community with strict bail conditions, including an overnight curfew.
Two Hamilton men also appeared in court via video-link from the city's police station cells.
A 22-year-old man charged with causing criminal damage and theft did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until November 27.
And a 27-year-old man pleaded guilty to thefts from vehicles between November 11 and 18.
The court heard he stole a pouch of tobacco worth $150 from a car located inside the Hamilton Caravan Park at 4.30am.
The court heard one victim returned to her car to find it had been rummaged through but nothing was stolen.
He also tampered with a car which was captured on CCTV.
The man was identified and subsequently arrested.
When shown the video of him committing the offences, he said he "might have gone on a little crime bender".
The man was jailed for seven days.
