Jamie Johnson faces Kingaroy Magistrates Court for smashing ATM with axe 13 times in terrifying attack

A woman was forced to run in fear to a police station after a man ‘greeted’ her and then proceeded to attack an ATM with an axe in the middle of a rural town.

Kingaroy Commonwealth Bank ATM was the site of a freightening incident where a man did more than $11,000 in damage using an axe. Photo: Dominic Elsome

A simple trip to the teller machine turned into a terrifying ordeal for a Kingaroy woman, when an axe-wielding man suddenly appeared and started attacking the ATM.

The shocking incident was revealed in Kingaroy Magistrates Court, where Jamie Johnson pleaded guilty to going armed to cause fear, wilful damage, and possessing meth. marijuana and drug utensils.

The court heard at 5.50pm on June 10, a woman was walking to the Commonwealth Bank ATM on Kingaroy St, when Johnson -who was not known to her – approached her with a tomahawk axe.

Police prosecutor Pepe Gangemi said Johnson “greeted her” and then delivered 13 strikes into the teller machine, causing the frightened woman to run to the police station.

Police later spoke to Johnson who claimed to be too intoxicated to remember the incident, but a text message found later from the defendant spoke of “coming down to the bank with an axe”.

The drug charges related to a search warrant executed at a Kingaroy address on June 10 that found marijuana, meth and an ice pipe.

Lawyer Mandy Reid said her client had faced a number of challenging circumstance that caused a “fall down in his behaviour” and heavy alcohol and drug use.

“The ATM was an item that was in his way on the day with regards to anger that has been building up over a long period of time,” Ms Reid said.

She also told the court Johnson had not intended to hurt the woman and was seeking anger management resources.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair accepted the “unusual way these things unfolded” and that Johnson had not intended to cause fear to anyone.

Johnson was placed on 18 months’ probation and ordered to pay $11,642.56 in restitution.