Lewis Volpe and Larissa Mae Beatts sentenced in Townsville District Court after robbing man at gunpoint in Ingham

A North Queensland pair who took thousands of dollars from a man in Ingham and drove off in his ute have claimed the ambush was a set up to get admissions to an alleged crime.

Lewis Volpe and Larissa Mae Beatts sentenced in Townsville District Court after robbing man at gunpoint in Ingham.

A couple who devised a plan that involved luring a man to a location before holding him at gunpoint have claimed the entire ruse was to get a confession in relation to an alleged historical assault.

Lewis Volpe, 29 and Larissa Mae Beatts, 32, appeared in Townsville District Court on Monday side by side after the pair hatched a plan to corner the complainant and take off with his money and work ute in what a judge has labelled “unusual” offending.

Crown prosecutor Patrick Newman told the court on May 20 last year at 3:30am Beatts called the man aged in his 30s, claiming she needed a lift after having an argument with her boyfriend – and unbeknownst to him, was the first step of the pair’s plan.

The man drove to Cane Inspector’s Lane in Ingham where he saw Beatts standing alone waving her phone around in the dark and he opened the passenger door to let her in, the court was told.

Mr Newman said that’s when Volpe also got into the backseat of the complainant’s ute.

“He held the gun in the complainant’s face and asked him if he remembered what happened,” the prosecutor said.

He also said the pair recorded the entire encounter which was played in court.

Volpe was heard shouting, “Don’t f--k around c--t, this is going to f--k you for life mate”.

The complainant replied, “I’ve got money, I’ll get you whatever you want” before he passed his phone to Beatts and showed her how to transfer $15,000 from his bank account into Volpe’s, and then he got out of his car and ran off.

Lewis Volpe was sentenced in Townsville District Court after robbing a man in Ingham at gunpoint. Picture: Facebook

Beatts drove off in the man’s ute while Volpe drove off in a separate vehicle and the complainant ran down the road knocking on multiple doors for help until he was answered on the third try and driven to a police station, Mr Newman said.

He said the police were able to cancel the money transfer before it went through and when they knocked on Beatts’ door during the investigation they found the man’s ute undamaged in the backyard.

“(Volpe) is the principal offender, (Beatts) is a party on the basis she lured the complainant to the road, flagged him down and did the transfer from his bank account,” Mr Newman said.

Defence barrister Harvey Walters instructed by Mellick Smith and Associates and represented both Volpe and Beatts said neither of the defendants had a criminal history and clarified the gun was a “replica” weapon.

“This is perhaps one of the most unusual cases I’ve seen in my career, in the sense the two accused tape recorded on a telephone the events of the evening,” he said.

He told the court Volpe’s father died suddenly three and a half months before the offending which riled up significant emotions in the man.

Mr Walters said Volpe had taped the incident in the hope of getting an admission from the victim in relation to his belief that the victim had committed a crime many years ago.

“Very early on in the interaction he says, ‘Remember what happened’.”

Judge John Smith interjected, and asked why the pair took the money and car.

“There was no demand for that initially,” the defence barrister said.

“It developed into a robbery when the complainant said ‘I’ll give you whatever you want’.”

Lewis Volpe and Larissa Mae Beatts sentenced in Townsville District Court after robbing man at gunpoint in Ingham (PICTURE: LILLIAN ALTMAN)

His Honour asked, “So why was the gun there?”

To which Mr Walters said Volpe was hoping it would get the man to admit what he had done.

The court was also told the complainant was unaware during the interaction that Beatts was in on the confrontation as he was heard saying “Don’t hurt her” to Volpe, and Volpe replied, “I’m not going to hurt her mate”.

When Mr Walters suggested that Beatts had been “dragged along” in the process, His Honour rejected it.

“She lured him there,” Judge Smith said.

The crown added that Volpe had made a complaint to police about the historical allegation one month after the offending however no charges had been laid.

Judge Smith when sentencing the pair said he accepted the purpose of the ambush was to get an admission from the complainant.

“It certainly doesn’t excuse it, if an offence has happened it’s crucial people go through the proper channels otherwise our society would break down into a lawless one,” he said.

Both Volpe and Beatts nodded.

Volpe pleaded guilty to armed robbery while in company.

He was sentenced to three and a half years jail, suspended after serving four months for an operational period of four years.

Beatts pleaded guilty to robbery while in company.

She was sentenced to two and a half years jail, suspended after serving two months for an operational period of three years.

All convictions were recorded.

Originally published as Lewis Volpe and Larissa Mae Beatts sentenced in Townsville District Court after robbing man at gunpoint in Ingham