A Mudgee man has faced court after threatening to kill a Coles employee for banning his girlfriend from the store.
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James Darren Stuart pleaded guilty to common assault and intimidation in Mudgee Local Court on May 18.
Court documents reveal the 36-year-old was shopping in Coles Mudgee with his partner around 6pm on March 8 this year.
The court heard the victim recognised the pair as they had both regularly shoplifted from the store in the past, and Stuart's girlfriend was currently banned from entering the premises.
The supermarket employee approached Stuart's partner to inform her of the ban and request she leave once the items the couple had collected were paid for.
Stuart went to purchase two barbeque chickens and cabanossi sticks at the self-serve registers when he began calling the worker a "dog", "f--k wit" and a "gronk" for banning his girlfriend. He appeared drunk to the victim who then called police.
The court heard the couple were once again asked to leave the store after Stuart threw a cabanossi stick at the victim with force, hitting him in the ribs.
"Come outside and I'll f--k you up. I know your rego number. I'll f--king stab you," Stuart said to the victim.
"I know the game; I'll go to jail and get out quick. I'll go to jail for 10 years to f--king kill you."
Stuart stood a metre away from the victim before a fellow Coles employee placed himself inbetween the men to diffuse the situation that had been captured on CCTV footage.
The court was told police were called to the store once again after Stuart returned two days later around 3pm. He was arrested and taken to Mudgee Police Station.
When in custody, Stuart became angry and started punching himself in the face before headbutting a concrete wall. His injuries were assessed by paramedics.
In sentencing, Magistrate John McIntosh said he believed the store would have been full of shoppers and children at the time who saw the offences carried out.
"He was just trying to do his job. I'm sure you wouldn't want someone to treat you the way you treated him," Magistrate McIntosh said.
"I don't feel good about it, I'm very remorseful," Stuart replied.
Stuart was sentenced to a 12-month community correction order.
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