Jobseeker avoids jail after sledgehammer outburst

A 50-year-old man has been spared jail after using sledgehammer to cause chaos inside a Victorian employment service office.

Anthony Wedding stormed into the St Laurence employment agency in Geelong in February last year, after lodging a complaint about the company’s service.

Using the sledgehammer, he burst through the door of the business and smashed a hole in a desk.

All but one staff fled, with that courageous employee coaxing Mr Wedding out of the office.

Today the County Court heard in the lead up to the offence, Mr Wedding had been hearing voices in his head in different languages, and believed he was a philosopher.

Referring to feedback from two psychiatrists, Judge Mullaly said the accused was suffering severe mental illness and that his health had been deteriorating since 2014.

The court heard Mr Wedding had been getting increasingly frustrated about his lack of employment, and that his relationship with the job seeking agency was increasingly becoming a source of frustration.

The judge acknowledged Mr Wedding had never been in trouble with the law before, and sentenced him to 20 months on a community corrections order, and 150 hours of unpaid work.