Ashton Blade Edwards 22, was sentenced in the District Court earlier this month for an aggravated carjacking at Bourke on September 18, 2020.

According to court documents, a 53-year-old manager at a hotel in Bourke gave three regular patrons a lift home, at about 11.30pm.

After dropping two of the women home, the hotel manager and passenger noticed a group of five men walking toward the car.

One of them tried to open the driver's side door of the grey Mercedes sedan, but the car was locked.

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The 54-year-old passenger slightly wound down her window and told the group "go away, go away, I'll call the police, I'll call my two sons". However the group ignored her, and attempted to open the doors, which frightened the hotel manager.

The passenger opened her door - which automatically opened all doors of the car - and was pulled out of the vehicle.

At the same time another man opened the driver's door and held a knife to the side of the hotel manager's neck and told her to get out of the car or "I'll kill you".

She unclipped her seatbelt when the man grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her out. In fear she ran.

The stolen car was found damaged and abandoned in bushland near a fishing reserve off Weir Road in Bourke on September 21.

Police later found Edwards' fingerprints on multiple parts of the vehicle, and he was arrested and charged at a Dubbo home on October 3.

In a statement provided to District Court Judge Richard Weinstein, the hotel manager revealed since the offence she had been afraid and felt hatred for Edwards and all the things she had experienced since.

She said she had so much fear she had lost her job, has nightmares and was afraid to fall asleep. She explained she was also scared to drive a car and saw no future for herself.

According to forensic psychiatrist Dr Sathish Dayalan, at the time of the offence, Edwards had used crystal methamphetamine, heroin, OxyContin, cannabis and alcohol. He admitted to the intravenous use of drugs which he used "to block everything out".

The court heard Edwards had not slept properly for four days prior to the offence, and claimed that the incident was "a spur of the moment thing". On reflection Edwards said that he felt angry with himself.

Dr Dayalan said Edwards presented as a young Aboriginal man whose mood was low and anxious. He accepted that he suffered from mental health problems and substance use disorder, but was willing to engage in rehabilitation.

Judge Weinstein said Edwards' criminal history didn't allow for leniency, as he was on an Intensive Corrections order at the time of the offence.

However he found the offence was opportunistic, and the motive was unknown.

Judge Weinstein couldn't find beyond reasonable doubt Edwards was the instigator of the offence, or pulled anyone from the car.

However he found that Edwards was criminally responsible for all acts carried out by his co-offenders which form part of a criminal enterprise, as he knew that the event would involve intimidation of the victims.

While the offence carries a standard non-parole period of five years, taking into account the effect COVID-19 has had on Edwards, his early plea, age, background of significant disadvantage, and his need for psychiatric intervention and rehabilitation, Judge Weinstein made a finding of special circumstances.

"There is no doubt that the incident would have been terrifying for the victim. Her reaction to it demonstrates the lasting harm caused by the actions of the offender," Judge Weinstein said.

"In my opinion, in all of the offender's circumstances and because of the combination of the disadvantage he has suffered, he was unable to make choices in the same way as an average person at the time of the offending."

Edwards was convicted and sentenced to three years of imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year and six months.

The court heard Edwards had spent time in custody on remand for three months after he was arrested for the offence. As a result the sentence was backdated to January 2021. He will be eligible for parole in July 2022.