Jayden Antonio, 22, pleads guilty to attempted armed robberies

A knife-wielding Norlane man has fronted court over a series of “unusual” and frightening attempted robberies against victims including an Uber driver and a man in a pub bathroom.

Jayden Antonio, 20. Picture: Facebook

A troubled thief was heavily abusing drugs when he committed a concerning series of attempted robberies across five days, a court has heard.

Jayden John Antonio appeared in the County Court at Geelong on Wednesday via videolink from prison.

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted armed robbery, single counts of theft and attempted robbery and a summary charge of aggravated assualt, stemming from five “unusual” incidents with separate victims spanning September 13-18 last year.

Crown prosecutor Raphael de Vietri told the court that on September 13 Antonio attempted to rob an Uber driver.

The victim picked up Antonio and another man at 2.12am on the Princes Highway in Norlane.

During the trip, Antonio began asking his victim “concerning” questions, such as if he was Muslim and circumcised, prompting the man to record the exchange.

As they arrived at their destination at 2.15am, Antonio’s questions turned to what the victim had in his glove box, and “where his money was”.

The victim said he didn’t have any, he was broke.

“Gimme your money c--t,” Antonio said, producing a 30cm long kitchen knife, before getting out, assuring the victim he was “joking” and had “bought (the knife) for cucumbers”.

Several days later on September 16, Antonio attempted to rob a man on Station Lake Rd in Lara at 3am.

Antonio approached the victim and asked for directions, while an associate of his watched.

The man felt uneasy, as if Antonio was just trying to keep him talking. Antonio then said “just one more thing, I’m gonna need all your money mate” and produced a knife.

The victim fled towards a service station, chased briefly by Antonio.

The court heard Antonio also stole a sign from Corio police station later that morning, and then attempted to rob a man he met on a bus of his phone that evening, punching the man several times after they disembarked.

On September 18, Antonio followed a man into the bathroom of the Grovedale Hotel, offering him cocaine and intimidating him with a knife.

The court heard Antonio avoided jail in December 2023 for an armed robbery, instead being placed on a community corrections order (CCO).

However, he became homeless soon afterwards and descended into “significant drug use” with a negative peer group.

At the time of his arrest in October 2024, he was using large quantities of ice and GHB daily, the court heard.

The court heard Antonio had a traumatic and disadvantaged background, including early exposure to substance use, and had been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and PTSD.

Antonio’s lawyer, Adrian Paull, put forward matters on his behalf, including his early plea, youth, family support and positive prospects of rehabilitation, but conceded prison was inevitable.

The court heard it was Antonio’s first time in custody, and it had had a “profound” impact on him.

Mr Paull said Antonio’s offending was unsophisticated, the incidents brief and relatively spontaneous, and that other than exposing the weapon he had not displayed “intimidatory behaviour”.

Mr Paull argued for a combination sentence of prison followed by another CCO and Mr de Vietri conceded such a sentence was open to the court.

Having heard plea submissions on Wednesday morning, Judge O’Connell gave his sentencing remarks in the afternoon, but adjourned the matter to May 29 so Antonio could be assessed for a CCO.

Originally published as Jayden Antonio, 22, pleads guilty to attempted armed robberies