DRUG affected and ranting about committing murders and cooking kilograms of ice, Garry John Wright carjacked a man at Heatherbrae and then detained two terrified service station workers at gunpoint, pointing the weapon at police before he was arrested.
"If you don't get back I have two hostages," Wright told police from inside the manager's office of the Ampol service station at Heatherbrae in the early hours of June 20 last year. "I will pop one in the head and one in the chest."
Wright, now 36, who was jailed in 2020 for carjacking two elderly men in separate incidents in Newcastle West, was represented by solicitor Matt Unwin when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio link from Goulburn Correctional Centre.
He pleaded guilty to a number of serious charges, including aggravated assault with intent to take a motor vehicle, kidnapping with intent to obtain an advantage, using an offensive weapon to commit an indictable offence and using an offensive weapon to prevent lawful apprehension.
Wright was armed with a battery operated airgun during the carjacking and subsequent kidnapping on June 20 last year.
But the terrified victims didn't know the gun wasn't real and police said the imitation firearm looked similar to a Glock 45 pistol.
It was about 3.11am when a man pulled into the BP service station at Heatherbrae to buy a coffee.
When he returned to his car, Wright opened the passenger door and pointed a gun at the man's head.
"Get out of the f---ing car, I will shoot ya, I will shoot ya," Wright told the man.
The man ran into the service station and Wright tried unsuccessfully to flee in the car.
Police were called but Wright had fled on foot.
Police were patrolling nearby about 4.10am when they saw Wright and his partner walking through the car park of the Motto Farm Motel.
When Wright spotted police he "stormed" towards the Ampol service station while still holding the pistol.
Police called out for Wright to drop the gun but he yelled back: "Just f--- off or I'll shoot myself", before pointing the gun at his own head.
Wright then raced into the service station, yelling and pointing the pistol at staff behind the counter.
He demanded car keys from the two staff members until police arrived and Wright pointing the gun at two police officers before again pointing the pistol at his own head.
The staff members retreated to the manager's office, but Wright forced his way in and locked the door, detaining the pair for five minutes, during which he pointed the gun at them and threatened to shoot them.
Meanwhile, outside, police were learning from Wright's partner that the firearm he had was a replica pistol.
Inside, Wright was demanding a getaway car be parked out front of the service station and telling the terrified service station workers that he was a "gangster" who "cooked ice by the kilo" and who had "killed two or three people".
Police attempted to negotiate with Wright to come out of the manager's office and eventually he agreed to free the female staff member.
But when he opened the door to let her out, police pushed their way in and after about 90 seconds of struggling, they managed to arrest Wright.
Wright later told police he had not taken his medication and instead had consumed 2.5 points of ice that day.
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