A burglar attempted to escape from a courtroom "in desperation" before he was tackled by plain clothes police officers sitting in the public gallery.
William Shane Bushell, 33, faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday, when he was sentenced to almost 14 months jail for a string of crimes.
Magistrate Ian Temby sentenced Bushell to a non-parole period of nine months, backdated to take time already spent in custody into account.
The labourer, from Reid, will be eligible for release in March.
Bushell had previously pleaded guilty to multiple charges including attempting to escape lawful custody, burglary, theft, and resisting a territory public official.
In July 2023, Bushell was in the court for a bail application hearing, when he attempted to escape upon discovering he would not be released from custody.
A Corrective Services officer tried to stop him but he pushed past her.
After taking several steps towards the exit, two police officers in plain clothes jumped to their feet and took Bushell to the ground.
Police repeatedly told Bushell to put his hands behind his back, but he resisted until an officer punched the failed escapee.
Bushell was then subdued and handcuffed.
However, the court heard on Wednesday, Bushell continued to resist when a Corrective Services officer escorted him from the room.
This resulted in the officer missing four days of work due to a sore shoulder.
When handing down his sentence, Mr Temby said: "The escape effort was clearly unsophisticated, he did not get very far."
Bushell's other crimes included possessing ammunition, stealing e-scooters, bottles of alcohol, and refusing to leave Centrelink in Phillip while holding a pair of nail scissors.
He was also involved in breaking into a Commonwealth Bank ATM.
Legal Aid lawyer Stephanie Corish said her client had a psycho-social disability stemming from a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and illicit drug use.
She argued the attempted escape was "not the most serious example, it was very clearly opportunistic conduct".
Ms Corish stated the crime was "a fleeting decision on Mr Bushell's part in desperation".
She made reference to a "quite distressing" document, showing in the past eight years Bushell had spent two thirds of his time in either a mental health institution or jail.
"[Bushell] will require significant assistance on learning how to live in the community," Ms Corish said.
Prosecutor Chamil Wanigaratne argued the combination of a mental health diagnosis and illicit drugs was "a toxic mix".
"Unless there is a significant enough message given to the defendant it would be easy for him to slip back into the pattern shown over several years," Mr Wanigaratne said.
"It seems that when he forms a view that he needs something, the rights of individuals and compliance with the law seems to go with the wind."
