A man will spend the next few months behind bars after brandishing knives inside the Sturt Mall, and intimidating two staff members.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mark Shailer appeared in Wagga Local Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to two counts of attempt to stalk/intimidate intending fear of harm (personal).
The 43-year-old from Wagga had earlier pleaded guilty to custody of a knife in public place and shoplifting.
Documents tendered to the court state that 10 days after being released on parole for other offences, Shailer got into a fight with another man who he claimed pulled out a knife.
In response, Shailer walked into Coles and stole two large butcher knives that were about 30 centimetres in length valued at $16 before running out of the store.
Two staff members followed him out and asked him to return and pay.
IN OTHER NEWS:
But he replied, "I just need the knives. I am going to do something, I'll come back and pay".
The women continued to tell him he needed to come back inside Coles and pay for the items, at which point Shailer became agitated and waved the knives around before lunging towards them.
Both of the staff members stepped back, fearing they would be stabbed and multiple shoppers inside the mall called triple zero.
Shailer ran out of Sturt Mall and down Baylis Street, but later returned when his partner was paying for the knives.
Police arrived and arrested him at the car park.
Shailer told the officers he took the knives as he believed his girlfriend would pay for them and that they were a form of self-defence.
Magistrate Christopher Halburd sentenced him to a combined term of imprisonment of 14 months, commencing from March 4.
He is eligible for parole on November 3.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters