LAST year’s incident on Castle Creek Road where cars were rammed and shots fired devastated a young family, a court has heard.
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A woman who lived on the road with her autistic son, aged four, broke down while reading a victim impact statement in Wodonga Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
The stress of the incident ultimately led to the family sleeping on various couches during Christmas as the young boy could no longer live in the area.
The four-year-old struggles to process emotions and was left scarred, isolated and unable to walk after the incident, the mother said.
He has been unable to be left alone, shows signs of fear and has needed to see a trauma counsellor.
Ian Mudra also told the court, through a victim impact statement, he was “devastated by this crime” and that friends and family members had noticed a change in him.
His car was stolen from his Melrose Drive home by Keith King and later hit 150km/h on the wrong side of the Hume Highway.
Mr Mudra welcomed the jail term outside court, but had hoped for a slightly longer term.
“It was pretty disturbing when it happened,” he said.
“He entered my home while I was in it, took my wallet, car keys and car and drove off.
“I’m very shaken about it.”
King started using cannabis and alcohol at age nine and has a long crime history.
Magistrate John Murphy urged him to address his ice problem.
“Seek help, if you've got a decent bone in your body, before you kill yourself or somebody else,” he said.
Mr Murphy noted King had had plenty of chances to kick his drug problems and had never been to rehab.
He also banned the 22-year-old from driving for five years.
