Robert Glowacki sentenced in County Court for Mickleham aggravated burglary

A serial crook just out of prison went to a Mickleham property with two others where the door was kicked in and a woman held at knifepoint.

Three men broke into a Mickleham home and held a woman at knifepoint. Picture: Supplied

A serial crook was out of prison for just two days before he and two others kicked in the door to a woman’s home and held her at knifepoint.

Robert Glowacki was sentenced in the County Court on Tuesday to four years’ and six months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.

The court heard the Shepparton man was one of three men who bashed down the door to a Mickleham home just before 1am on November 28, 2019, brandishing weapons.

Two residents saw the burglars on CCTV before the man called triple-0 and ran from the house to hide in a neighbouring garden, while the woman remained in the home.

The invading trio carried between them an imitation firearm, a knife, and an axe-style weapon, but Judge Amanda Chambers said it was not proved which belonged to Glowacki and whether he knew about the other weapons.

An imitation firearm was used during the burglary. Picture: Supplied

The court heard one offender “pointed a knife threateningly” at the woman while another loaded up the woman’s car with electronics and valuables from the home.

The three men fled before police arrived at the property about 1.05am.

A neighbour “noticed several smears and droplets of blood” on her car in the days following the invasion, which when tested by police who came up with a match for Glowacki.

He was arrested following an unrelated incident and has remained in custody since.

Judge Chambers said the act was “undeniably a serious example of aggravated burglary.”

“The (CCTV) footage demonstrates the terrifying and violent nature of your forced entry to the premises,” she said.

Judge Chambers said it would have been a “traumatic ordeal” for the victims. Picture: Supplied

The court heard Glowacki had a stimulant use disorder and was using up to 2g of ice and 60ml of GHB each day at the time of the offending.

Judge Chambers said the 33-year-old had a “significant and relevant prior criminal history”, including armed robbery, threat to kill, assault, and theft of a motor vehicle, and that imprisonment had not deterred him in the past.

However, she said Glowacki’s rehabilitation prospects had improved with the support of his father – himself a drug counsellor and former heroin addict – and his now-fiancee whom he got engaged to while behind bars.

Judge Chambers noted Glowacki’s “unstable upbringing” marred by parental incarceration, drug abuse, and violence.

She said she also took into account the delay caused to Glowacki’s trial by a key witness failing to appear in court on two occasions before handing down a sentence of four years and six months.

Glowacki will be eligible for parole after three years and has spent 941 days in pre-sentencing custody.