Man has axe to grind with ATM

A SIMPLE trip to the teller machine turned into a terrifying ordeal for a Kingaroy woman, when an axe-wielding man suddenly appeared and started attacking the ATM.

The incident was revealed in Kingaroy Magistrates Court, where Jamie Johnson pleaded guilty to going armed to cause fear, wilful damage, and possessing meth, marijuana and drug utensils.

The court heard at 5.50pm on June 10, a woman was walking to the Commonwealth Bank ATM on Kingaroy St, when Johnson – who was not known to her – approached her with a tomahawk axe.

Police prosecutor Pepe Gangemi said Johnson “greeted her” and then delivered 13 strikes into the teller machine, causing the frightened woman to run to the police station.

Police later spoke to Johnson, who claimed to be too intoxicated to remember the incident, but a text message found later from the defendant spoke of “coming down to the bank with an axe”.

The drug charges related to a search warrant executed on June 10 that found cannabis, meth and a pipe.

Lawyer Mandy Reid said her client had faced challenging circumstance that caused a “fall down in his behaviour”.

“The ATM was an item that was in his way on the day with regards to anger that has been building up over a long period of time,” Ms Reid said.

She also told the court Johnson had not intended to hurt the woman and was seeking anger management help.

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair accepted the “unusual way these things unfolded” and that Johnson had not intended to cause fear to anyone.

Johnson was placed on 18 months’ probation and ordered to pay $11,642.56 restitution.