Nicholas Hickey: Wonthaggi man jailed for attempted armed robbery

A woman continues to battle crippling insomnia and PTSD after a Wonthaggi man threatened her with a gun in a terrifying attack.

Nick Hickey pleaded guilty at the County Court.

A woman has been left with crippling insomnia and PTSD after a Wonthaggi man threatened her with a gun which he fired after she refused to hand over her car keys.

Nicholas Hickey, 22, pleaded guilty at the County Court on July 2 to charges including theft, attempted armed robbery and possessing a drug of independence.

The court heard Hickey pointed a gun at two family members, including the woman, when he tried to steal her car in Inverloch on May 17, 2020.

First, the man pointed the gun at a man who refused to hand over the keys and fled to a neighbour’s house.

When the woman came out he also pointed the gun at her before firing a shot in an unknown direction.

In a victim’s impact statement, the woman said the incident had devastated her life.

“I live in fear and I’m always worried that something bad is going to happen to me or my family,” the woman said.

“I now live in a world I find chaotic, frightening and overwhelming.”

The woman said she had PTSD, insomnia, anxiety and depression following the incident.

“I live in a constant state of hypervigilance,” she said.

“I’m now a shadow of the person I once was.”

The court also heard Hickey stormed through a house in Wonthaggi on May 11 2020.

He began threatening another victim with a taser and demanded he hand over his clothes, car keys, house keys and phone.

Hickey said he would return the items if the victim paid him $500 within 24 hours.

In a police interview, Hickey said he went to the house to get drugs.

Hickey’s barrister Gordon Chisholm said the man had battled with substance abuse problems.

“He has a capacity to get appropriate treatment to deal with some of the underlying issues that might be related to drug use,” Mr Chisholm said.

“He has the capacity to contribute to society.”

Judge John Smallwood said the attempted armed robbery was a serious crime.

“The impact of that crime has been eloquently explained in the victim’s impact statement,” Judge Smallwood said.

“It effectively ruined her happiness in life.”

Judge Smallwood said there were consequences for this type of offending.

“If people want to commit crimes like this, people have to understand there are consequences for it,” he said.

Hickey was sentenced to three and a half years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 months.

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