A man who smashed his car into a McDonald's before wielding a knife inside the restaurant has been sentenced to more than five years in jail.
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Abbas Hayder Al-Khafaji was in a state of psychosis due to his cannabis use and failure to take his prescribed medication before the February 2022 attack, a court heard.
His condition inspired delusions, triggering a confrontation in which he brandished the knife inside the McDonald's at Narellan in southwest Sydney.
Al-Khafaji had ploughed the SUV into the front of the fast food outlet, smashing into tables in the outside dining area.
He then confronted a woman in the restaurant's kitchen while holding the knife, threatened an employee and paced angrily around the store before eventually getting back in the car and driving off.
Judge Smith said two young staff members were hidden in fear, with one hyperventilating.
Al-Khafaji was paranoid and had a "look in his eyes that was unrecognisable", the court was told previously.
The Oran Park man pleaded guilty to using an offensive weapon with an intent to commit an indictable offence, destroying or damaging property worth up to $15,000 and contravening the conditions of a court order.
Judge Tanya Smith sentenced Al-Khafaji to a maximum of five and a half years in jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months, in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday.
Wearing prison greens, the 29-year-old stood with his shoulders slouched as officers secured him in handcuffs after the sentence was delivered.
Judge Smith noted that Al-Khafaji had faced a traumatic upbringing, experiencing childhood sex abuse and physical abuse.
His history of mental illness and need for rehabilitation services was considered in the sentence.
Al-Khafaji will be eligible for parole on October 21, 2025.
Australian Associated Press
