Jayden John Antonio, 20, pleads guilty to armed robbery, recklessly causing injury

An axe-wielding thief stopped to help a shopkeeper pick up stock that fell from shelves during their scuffle before the confrontation escalated again in a bizarre armed robbery.

Jayden Antonio, 20. Picture: Facebook

An axe-wielding thief stopped to help a shopkeeper pick up items that fell from the counter during their scuffle before the confrontation escalated again in a bizarre armed robbery.

Jayden Antonio, 20, pleaded guilty in the Geelong County Court to one charge of armed robbery and one charge of recklessly causing injury.

Judge Peter Wischusen said he had been “persuaded” the robbery was “something of an aberration” in the 20-year-old’s life.

The court heard that on April 23, the day after Antonio lost his job as a bricklayer, he started drinking.

Prosecutor Andrew Moore told the court that the Norlane resident had no memory of the crime, having “drunk to excess” including 12 mid-strength beers followed by spirits.

Just before 5pm, Antonio entered the Robin Ave milk bar and browsed for a “short time” before leaving.

Shortly after, he returned and an argument erupted when he tried to purchase e-cigarettes.

Antonio did not have the funds in his personal bank account, and the 45-year-old shopkeeper refused to sell him any without payment.

“He (Antonio) then lifted his hoodie and revealed the handle of a small axe, tucked into the waistband of his pants,” Mr Moore said.

In response, the shopkeeper picked up a piece of wood and a “short altercation” took place, ending when Antonio snatched a display of cigarette lighters off the counter and ran towards the exit.

Stopping in the front door, he pulled out the axe and threatened the shopkeeper, who had followed him, saying: “I have an axe, don’t come over”.

The two men then put their weapons down, in what was described by Mr Wischusen as a “peculiar exchange”, shook hands and pick up various items on the floor that had fallen during the altercation.

But then the argument resumed and Antonio picked the axe back up, stashed it in his pants and ran to the back of the store, pursued by the shopkeeper.

During this final scuffle, largely out of the view of CCTV cameras, Antonio hit the shopkeeper over the head with an unknown metal object, leaving him with a cut above the eye that had to be stitched up, before fleeing the store with two packets of e-cigarettes.

Ten days later police uploaded the CCTV to the Geelong Eyewatch Facebook page, and Antonio handed himself in.

He was arrested and a search of his house revealed clothing that matched the CCTV footage and an e-cigarette.

In sentencing, Mr Wischusen said he took into account Antonio’s youth, his lack of prior offending, his guilty plea and his background and personal circumstances.

The court heard that Antonio’s father, a heroin addict with an extensive criminal history, left when he was two.

Antonio then had a negative relationship with his stepfather, which left him with anxiety and depression and “low coping resources” the court was told.

Mr Wischusen said a psychologist’s report tendered to the court stated Antonio would be “vulnerable within the prison environment”.

But Mr Wischusen said he had to also consider deterrence in his sentencing.

“Offending of this sort against soft targets is prevalent,” Mr Wischusen said.

Antonio was convicted and sentenced to a two-and-a-half year community corrections order, which must include 200 hours of unpaid community work within the first 18 months.

Originally published as Jayden John Antonio, 20, pleads guilty to armed robbery, recklessly causing injury