A man who threatened to kill the driver of a Poolmart van before stealing the vehicle has avoided jail time.
The van was parked outside the store in Warnbro in January 2012 when Ian Stewart Mellowship spotted the keys on the dashboard.
When the driver returned to the vehicle after briefly picking something up from inside he noticed Mellowship inside the van.
The driver tried to jump into the passenger seat, but Mellowship pointed a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him before swerving the vehicle from side to side until the man was thrown out.
The pool shop worker was not injured and the van was later found abandoned in Port Kennedy.
The Supreme Court heard on Tuesday the now 27-year-old stole the van because he wanted to see his girlfriend and had no money for transport.
He was also a long term user of illicit drugs after his mother died when he was a teenager.
Mellowship was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for 15 months.
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