Troy Barnes sentenced for ‘brutal’ armed hostage scenario in Buninyong

Drug-affected, paranoid, and armed with a loaded rifle, a man threatened to kill his teenage hostage before causing thousands of dollars of property damage.

Troy Barnes, 30, pleaded guilty in Ballarat County Court after holding a woman hostage at gunpoint in Buninyong in August 2021. Photo: Facebook

A man who used his girlfriend as a human shield and smashed shop windows during a “deranged” armed rampage south of Ballarat will spend at least four and a half years in prison.

Troy Barnes, now 30 and a father, was driving in Buninyong with his then 19-year-old victim in the early hours of October 17, 2021.

Drug-affected, paranoid, and armed with a loaded rifle, Barnes pulled the woman from his vehicle when it became bogged.

He then “held, dragged, and manhandled her about the township for some considerable time”, Judge Michael Bourke said in Mildura Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

When police arrived, Barnes refused to comply with their demands and used his victim “as a shield”.

During the ordeal, he pointed the rifle at two people who worked at a local bakery and threatened to kill his partner, at one point striking her with the muzzle of his firearm.

Barnes did $6400 worth of damage to property in the area.

At one point a Buninyong resident exited his home and shouted at Barnes to free his hostage, and she was able to break free and run inside to safety.

Barnes was later arrested in bushland along Geelong Rd, and police found drugs and other items at the scene and at his home.

“The whole episode ran a number of hours,” Judge Bourke said.

“It was wildly violent, deranged, dangerous behaviour – a very serious breach and threat to public order and safety.”

He said Barnes’ treatment of his hostage was “brutal”.

Barnes pleaded guilty to 21 charges, including one of handling stolen goods, two of possessing a drug of dependence, one of kidnapping, one of using a firearm as a prohibited person, one of using firearm in a public place, four of assault, one of threatening to kill, and ten of damaging property, as well as assault with a weapon, using an unregistered vehicle, unlicensed driving, and possessing cartridge ammunition without a licence.

The court heard Barnes had a deprived upbringing and a verbal IQ of 75.

He was sentenced to six years and six months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of four year and six months and 526 days already served.

He was also fined $700.