Pet shelter fake gunman Tony Wittmann’s fight over dad’s will

An ex-soldier jailed over a horrific animal shelter ambush is fighting for a chunk of his father’s will, claiming his dad had a “moral duty” to provide for him.

Tony Wittmann is suing his father’s $2.1m estate, claiming he was left with nothing.

A former army reservist who stormed an animal shelter and held a young woman at gunpoint in a bid to retrieve his support cat has launched a legal battle, complaining he’s been left out of his dead father’s multimillion-dollar will.

Tony Wittman is serving at least three years behind bars for the terrifying ambush at the Lost Dog’s Home in January last year.

Animal rescue worker Bailey Scarlett was about to start her evening shift at the shelter on January 11 when Wittman, dressed in “SWAT” gear and brandishing an imitation assault rifle, approached her car and pointed the gun at her face.

Wittman would later claim he was suffering from a “brain meltdown” and PTSD after 16 years in the Australian Army.

“The only thing I really treasure in this world is that cat and it was taken away from me,” Wittman told police.

In reality, he had served just two years as a reservist in the mid 1990s and was discharged after failing to meet the physical requirements of service.

During a pre-sentence in the County Court hearing, it emerged Wittman’s PTSD stemmed from an physically abusive upbringing which included corporal punishment at the hands of his father.

Wittman was behind bars awaiting sentence when his father, Max Francis Wittman, died in October last year.

Tony Wittmann is spending at least three years in jail over the incident at The Lost Dogs’ Home.

Wittmann’s cat is ‘the only thing I really treasure in this world’.

The Herald Sun can reveal Wittman is now suing his father’s estate worth more than $2.1m, claiming he was left with nothing.

In court documents obtained by the Herald Sun, Wittman claims his father had a “moral duty” to make provision for his proper maintenance and support.

He claims his father’s will, made in March 2018, failed to provide him any such support.

“Having regard to his current financial position, the plaintiff is not capable, by reasonable means, of providing adequately for his own proper maintenance and support”.

The legal documents name Wittman’s current address as Ravenhall Correctional Centre, where he is serving a maximum six-year prison sentence.

In a powerful victim impact statement to the court in February, Ms Scarlett told Wittman through tears that ‘“real soldiers are meant to protect the public”.

“You were prepared for war … a war against a totally defenceless, animal rescue worker,” Ms Scarlett said at the plea hearing.

Wittman had contacted the Cranbourne pound about 6pm on the evening of the attack inquiring about his missing cat.

He was told the business would be closing soon so made an appointment to pick up his pet the next day.

But instead of waiting until the morning, the father-of-three packed a bag of arsenal including a military style vest, an imitation flashbang and firearms, cable ties, a tomahawk, a hunting knife, wire cutters and a pet carrier and drove to the shelter.

Ms Scarlett wiped away tears as she recalled the frightening moment Wittmann aimed the gun at her head and threatened to kill her.

“I begged you, I cried to you … I kept telling you I was someone’s mother,”

“But my cries for my son and my life meant nothing to you,” she said.

In sentencing, Judge Duncan Allen said it was difficult to contemplate the “abject horror and fear” Ms Scarlett would have faced during the “appalling” assault.