Rockingham teen sentenced for role in robbery

A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced for his part in an armed robbery in Golden Bay. The teenager, who cannot be named, faced Rockingham Children’s Court on Wednesday, charged with one count of aggravated armed robbery. Prosecutor Sergeant Scott Andrews told the court that on Saturday, July 2, around 9pm the teen drove two co-offenders to Golden Bay. He said the teen drove the group around for some time until they saw the victim at random, who was walking alone. The three boys, dressed in black and sporting balaclavas, hopped out of the car and ran toward the 21-year-old victim. The two co-offenders, who were armed with a knife and an axe, demanded that the victim hand over his belongings. The victim refused and was pushed to the ground repeatedly, but kept getting back up. The victim heard one of the boys shouting “come on, let’s go”. After being pushed down again, the victim’s wallet and phone fell out of his pocket. He fought the group of boys before they got away with his wallet. The victim still had his phone and was able to take a photo of the vehicle. Police arrested the 17-year-old teen in relation to the incident but were not able to identify the two other offenders. Lawyer Clare Rossi said while the teen admitted to driving the co-accused to commit the robbery, he had yelled at them to get back in the car and leave before things escalated. “He was unable to give me really any explanation as to why he chose to participate in the . . . he really didn’t know,” Ms Rossi said. “He is extremely remorseful for his actions and was relieved that the victim wasn’t injured.” Magistrate Andree Horrigan said that it was “pretty mean conduct” and “fortunate that the victim took a photo of the vehicle”. “I don’t think that you made a very good decision to drive. You agreed to drive and help secure a victim,” she said. Ms Horrigan took into account that the victim could hear someone in the background saying “come on” but the incident was premeditated and the teen knew “what he was doing”. The 17-year-old was sentenced to a six-month supervision order.