A man responsible for a 12-hour police siege in Prospect Vale last year will be released from custody next week to address his drug addiction issues in the community.
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Caine Robert Richardson, 30, of Newnham, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Launceston on Friday having spent just over a year in custody.
Police were called to a Westbury Road address at 3.45am on November 10 with Richardson "agitated and ranting manically", and the area was cordoned off. Richardson came onto the porch armed with scissors and wrapped in a doona which he said was to stop police from tasering him.
He refused police negotiators and could be seen acting in an "increasingly bizarre" manner, while a woman in the house told police he had poured petrol, the court heard. She left the premises at 5am.
Richardson barricaded himself inside using furniture at the door and a drill to screw the doors and windows shut, spreading further petrol around the front door.
The Tasmania Police Special Operations Group, fire brigades and Ambulance Tasmania attended, before Richardson ignited some of the petrol in the hallway, then extinguished it.
He surrendered himself to police at 3pm and was safely taken into custody. Richardson declined to be interviewed by police.
A police search uncovered a torch which could also be used as a taser, petrol stains on the carpet, containers of petrol and smoke damage.
It was the second time Richardson was responsible for a police siege. The first was in 2016, when he armed himself with a knife and set fire to a residence.
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In 2018, he was jailed for 15 months for drug trafficking and was given a 15-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. The Prospect Vale siege was a breach of this suspended sentence.
The court heard Richardson has struggled with drug addiction since his childhood and his attempts at rehabilitation had failed.
A report found him suitable for a drug treatment order.
Justice Robert Pearce said the siege resulted in the diversion of valuable community resources and placed multiple people at risk, describing Richardson's actions as "misguided, selfish and unfair".
Justice Pearce said further time in prison was unlikely to help Richardson in his attempts at rehabilitation.
"If his addiction can be suitably addressed, then the community as a whole will benefit," he said.
Richardson was jailed for 15 months, starting from his arrest last year, with the remainder of his sentence suspended for another 12 months from his release next Tuesday.
He was placed on a drug treatment order. A breach of the order would result in a two-year prison sentence.