Joshua Dendulk: Bellambi man requests mental health assessment after alleged siege

A man has told a court his mental health “isn’t right” after allegedly threatening police with a knife and sparking a four-hour siege.

An Illawarra man accused of threatening police with a knife before a dramatic four-hour siege claims he thought the police were there to rob him.

Joshua Dendulk, 39, faced Wollongong Local Court from a jail cell on Monday, where he broke down, asking for a mental health assessment and telling Magistrate Gabriel Fleming “I’m not right”.

Mr Dendulk’s request came just days after he exploded into a rage in the AVL suite at Wollongong Police Station, with his legal representative telling the court he was in a “paranoid state”.

Mr Dendulk was arrested On June 1, after he was approached by police near his home on Robert Cram Dr at Bellambi who sought to question him about his alleged breach of bail.

According to court documents, two officers knocked on Mr Dendulk’s front door and left the address but spotted him in the front passenger seat of a black Hyundai Tuscan as they were leaving.

The officers turned around and followed the car back to Mr Dendulk’s home, where the 39-year-old spotted them and allegedly ran towards the front door.

Joshua Dendulk, 39, is accused of sparking a siege at Bellambi on June 1. Picture: Facebook

Police yelled at him to stop and announced their presence but Mr Dendulk allegedly pulled out a 30cm kitchen knife, according to court documents.

“The accused allegedly turned and challenged police to shoot him while holding the knife in his right hand, gesturing the knife towards police,” court documents state.

The officers became scared and drew their issued firearm, activating their body worn camera as they approached Mr Dendulk.

Police asked him to drop the knife but he allegedly refused and yelled at police to “get the f**k away from me … I am going to f**king do it” before opening the front door and going into the home.

The officers tried to negotiate with Mr Dendulk but he allegedly refused, sparking a siege situation with the aid of specialist resources and other emergency services.

According to court documents, police attempted to talk with Mr Dendulk for four hours where he would allegedly go onto the second floor balcony and rant at police “in a manic state”.

Mr Dendulk allegedly walked out of the property at 2.45pm and was taken to Wollongong Police Station before he was conveyed to Wollongong Hospital for assessment and released.

The siege took place over four hours at Robert Cram Dr, Bellambi. Picture: Darren Malone

The 39-year-old was charged with intimidate police officer in execution of duty, resist or hinder police officer in the execution of duty, use offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, and armed with intent commit indictable offence.

He appeared before the court last week where he broke into a rage and was refused bail.

Multiple police teams were on the scene on Tuesday. Picture: Darren Malone

Mr Dendulk was supported by several family members when he appeared again on Monday, all of whom broke down in tears when he appeared in the courtroom.

The 39-year-old wanted to represent himself in an application for bail, however he was encouraged to apply for bail with the help of a lawyer once his mental health had been assessed.

The matter will return to court later this week.