TWO Mildura teenagers have admitted stealing more than $5000 in an armed robbery on a Mildura convenience store on Sunday night.
And a brother of one of the offenders has faced court over the further armed robbery of a service station early yesterday morning.
A Children’s Court was told two 17-year-old males armed themselves with knifes and confronted staff at PJs Supermarket and Newsagency about 9.35pm on Sunday.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Damon Pica said four offenders met in Henderson Park on Sunday evening before two of them – both armed with knives – used shirts to cover their heads and entered the store.
One of the accused went to the cash area where a staff member was standing while the other stood guard at the door.
The youth inside the shop told the staff member: “This is a robbery, give me all your money.”
The youth turned a key to open the cash register and stole $5200 which he put in his pocket
The co-accused, who had been keeping a lookout, then moved closer to the staff member, pointed his knife towards him and warned “don’t do anything stupid”.
The armed robbers left the store still with shirts around their heads and joined up with their two mates in Henderson Park before dividing the cash between themselves and another man at a Mildura house.
Sen-Constable Pica said one of the youths who entered PJs and opened the cash till was seen by police about 12.10pm the day after the robbery in the company of the occupier of the Mildura house and his partner.
Police searched the trio and found $1020 on the resident who told them the accused teen had given him the money after admitting that he had robbed the store.
The man’s partner also admitted she had overheard the accused admitting to the robbery.
Sen-Constable Pica said the offending had caused the PJs staff member “a great deal of fear” and the $1020 was the only money that had been recovered by police following the robbery.
Defence counsel Gavan Telefson said that while it could be assumed that the outcome of the matter would be “inevitable”, he asked that a pre-sentence report be ordered.
Mr Tellefson also tendered a report from the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service on the offender.
The court was told the teenager had been released from detention late last year and did not take up “options” available to him.
Magistrate Dan Muling said an armed robbery offence had to attract detention. The youth was remanded in custody for sentence at a later date.
A co-accused also faced a Children’s Court and indicated he would plead guilty to the PJs armed robbery in the Koori Children’s Court at a later date. There was no application for bail.
The brother of one of the accused has also faced a Children’s Court where he indicated he would plead guilty to the armed robbery of the Caltex Service Station at the corner of Fifteenth Street and Walnut Avenue yesterday morning.
Sen-Constable Pica said the youth was at the service station about 6.10am and disguised himself by using a shirt to cover his head.
The teenager armed himself with a rock that was the size of a cricket ball and demanded cash from the sole female employee while holding the rock in a threatening matter.
He struck the employee on the shoulder in a “not substantial” manner when he ordered her to only put notes in a bag.
The employee put $200 from two cash registers into the bag before the youth ran along Fifteenth Street, dropping his shirt and the shirt he had around his head over a fence. Police later recovered these.
The youth told police he could not remember the armed robbery because he had been drinking and taking prescription drugs.
The court was told that while the youth had a prior history of criminal offending, he had not served a term of detention.
Defence counsel Gavan Tellefson asked for a pre-sentence report.
This article appeared in Saturday’s Sunraysia Daily 28/01/2012.
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