A prisoner has been sentenced to two months' jail after destroying a mattress while in custody at Orange Police Station.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Paul Shane Soderlund, 44, of Waratah Avenue, was refused bail for an unrelated offence in Orange Local Court on February 2, 2022.
Soderlund was at the police station and made the court appearance via an audio visual link.
According to police, he yelled and swore at the magistrate when the bail refusal was issued and he was moved to a police cell so arrangements could be made to transfer him to a correctional facility.
He was yelling and swearing in his cell at 3.30pm and the police saw him attempt to rip the cover from the mattress in his cell.
Soderlund knelt on the mattress and ripped a large strip of the vinyl covering revealing the foam underneath.
Police said the strip was about one metre in length and due to the tear the mattress, and the strip of vinyl, were considered safety hazards and were removed from the cell.
The mattress was completely destroyed and was worth about $300.
Soderlund pleaded guilty to destroying the mattress and appeared in Orange Local Court via audio visual link for sentencing last week. However, he gave his solicitor limited instructions before his appearance.
Magistrate David Day convicted him and gave him the two-month jail term.
He said Soderlund remained bail refused on other matters but the fixed-jail term would reclassify him in the prison system.
"I'll take into account the plea at the first opportunity," Mr Day said but also considered his "very bad record".
"It falls in his favour to be classified as a sentenced person."
The jail term was back-dated to when Soderlund went into custody and expired on Friday.
However, upon hearing the sentence, Soderlund spoke up over the video link.
"What about my drug use?" he asked.
"This [isn't] working for me.
"I'm sick of coming up in front of you."
To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Send a letter to the editor using the form below: