Wrongly believing the young man who came to deliver his protein bars had made jibes about his mother, Christian Sales held a Taser to the man's back and forced him to apologise.
He had been delivering protein bars to Sales' central Victorian home for about a month when the incident occurred in October 2020.
Sales has a history of drug and mental health issues and had relapsed in the previous months, caused by non-compliance with treatments and drinking and drug use.
County Court Judge Michael Bourke said he seemed to think the man delivering his protein bars had insulted or disrespected his mother, and was overcharging for the bars.
Sales was aggressive and made threats against the young man, who described him as speaking gibberish.
He stopped the man from leaving and, armed with a knife and a torch-like Taser, demanded he hand over his stock of protein bars.
Sales through a few fake jabs, making light contact with the man's face and he ducked to avoid another blow.
"He removed all the protein bars from his car and you forced him to go inside and apologise to your embarrassed mother," Judge Bourke said.
He had the Taser activated and near the man's back as he did so, but did not make contact.
The man went to police the following day.
Sales, now 43, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and possession of cannabis, found in his bedroom when police searched for the Taser.
There were technical issues when Sales, from Maryborough, was sentenced on Friday. He was forced to call his lawyer and listen on speaker to her connection to the online court.
"I hope people don't continue to pretend we're providing a first class service in Victorian courts, because we're not," Judge Michael Bourke said of the situation, while also acknowledging the necessity for online courts.
He sentenced Sales to 70 days behind bars - accounting for time already served.
He also ordered Sales complete 300 hours of unpaid community work and be assessed and treated for mental health, alcohol and drug issues.
