Abolfazl Ahmadi, 21, jailed for horror attack on Ampol worker and his brothers

A young service station worker was about to head home with his brothers after finishing a night shift when a man threatened them, tied them up and locked them in a bathroom.

A man who attacked, threatened and tied up a young service station worker and his brothers has asked his victims to forgive him for causing them “fear and trauma”, a court has heard.

In the early hours of May 16, 2023, an 18-year-old service station employee was locking up the Parafield Gardens Ampol after his night shift, while his three brothers were waiting to pick him up.

The young employee had just shut the door when he was approached by 21-year-old Abolfazl Ahmadi.

In sentencing in the South Australian District Court earlier this month, Judge Emily Telfer said Ahmadi approached the young man, “grabbed him by his collar and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at his face”.

“You said ‘if you do what I say, no one gets hurt.’ You had disguised your appearance and were wearing a cap, hooded jumper, a mask over your face, sunglasses and blue gloves that had been taped to your wrists,” she said.

Ahmadi then pointed the handgun at one of the young man’s brothers, who was then waiting by the night window at the service station, and told him not to move.

“You then produced a black device and said ‘don’t do anything stupid. Don’t do anything. I will kill you. I will taze you’,” Judge Telfer said.

He then moved over to the vehicle where the man’s other brothers were waiting, forced them out and directed them all inside the store.

“You forced all four men into the console area. You again produced the handgun. You directed (the employee) to unlock the cigarette cabinets and told all four men to load the cigarettes into two black bags that you had brought with you to the scene. You directed (the employee) to open the safe. He told you he did not have access to the safe. You became angry and you grabbed cash from the cash register.

A young Ampol employee and his brothers were tied up and robbed at gunpoint. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

“You began to bind each victim using cable ties you had brought with you to the scene.”

She said once the men were on the ground with their hands bound, Ahmadi stole their wallets before forcing them into the toilet area.

The final stages of the attack, Judge Telfer said, was witnessed by police who had been alerted to the robbery.

They arrested Ahmadi as he tried to leave the service station carrying two black bags which contained cigarettes and tobacco worth more than $12,000.

He was also found in possession of a gel blaster imitation Glock 19, and a non-functional taser.

Ahmadi was charged and later pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery – which carries a maximum life sentence – and four counts of false imprisonment.

In his victim impact statement read to the court, the employee and his brothers said their sense of safety and security had been shattered.

“Your victims have been left with feelings of anger, resentment and injustice. Their optimism about life has been replaced by apprehensiveness and cynicism,” Judge Telfer said.

In a letter of apology to the men, Ahmadi acknowledged his victims’ fear and trauma, and asked for their forgiveness.

“Your offending was accompanied by a level of pre-planning and preparation. The thoroughness of your disguise, your considered transport to the location, and the way in which you armed yourself with weapons and came prepared with cable ties and bags all support that conclusion,” Judge Telfer said.

She jailed Ahmadi for six years, one month and 26 days, with a non-parole period of three years and six months.

That sentence was backdated to his arrest last year, meaning he will be eligible for parole in November 2026.