Brandon Lee Newey pleads guilty to robbery, deprivation of liberty

An alcoholic covered his face with a shirt as he robbed a rural service station and threatened to kill the worker, but he didn’t factor one of his most distinctive features into his plan.

An alcoholic tried to conceal his face with his shirt as he robbed a Moranbah service station and threatened to kill the worker in what was labelled “completely irrational offending”.

But in doing so Brandon Lee Newey, who was unarmed, revealed a number of distinctive tattoos that were captured on CCTV footage of the incident on July 31, 2021.

Mackay District Court heard Newey, then 26, went into the Mills Ave service station about 9pm with a shirt wrapped around his face, demanding money and threatening to kill the attendant if he touched the alarm.

He made off with $310 in cash, made the worker get on the floor and again warned him off touching the alarm saying, “if you touch it before I leave I will kill you”.

The court heard Newey, who was an alcoholic, was “amassing a concerning” criminal history that included a hostage situation where he held a knife to a Night Owl worker’s throat – he had been drinking that day.

The court heard on another occasion he had drunkenly broken into a Moranbah aquatic centre and tried to gain entry to the kiosk.

He was unarmed and concealing his face with a shirt when he demanded cash and threatened to kill the worker if he touched the alarm.

Newey, now 27, pleaded guilty to robbery and deprivation of liberty.

Barrister Scott McLennan said when his client woke up the following day he was horrified over his conduct and handed himself into police, unaware of the CCTV footage.

The court heard he spent 3.5 months in custody on remand, then went into residential rehabilitation for his alcoholism and would be starting a new job next month.

Mr McLennan said as a result his client should be given immediate release rather than going back to jail.

The court heard Newey began drinking when he was 13 and it had spiralled again after his father’s death, but he had found and held onto jobs throughout his life.

The 27 year old was given immediate parole.

Mr McLennan said his client had a well-paying job at the mines at the time, labelling the crime as “completely irrational offending”.

Newey had been sent home because he was unwell, took antibiotics and began drinking with a friend.

The court heard he offered $1000 compensation to the worker and had written a letter of apology, which Judge Tony Moynihan described as “insightful and genuine”.

Judge Moynihan accepted Newey’s childhood was disadvantaged and that he had taken “exemplary efforts” to rehabilitate.

Newey was jailed for 2.5 years with immediate parole release – the pre-sentence custody was declared as time already served. Convictions were recorded.