Ryan Mitchell Tarran sentenced in Rockhampton court for robbery

A Gracemere man was punched in the face without warning, robbed and held against his will after he refused to sell another man his prescribed morphine tablets.

Ryan Mitchell Tarran.

A Gracemere man was punched in the face without warning and robbed after he refused to sell another man his prescribed morphine tablets.

Ryan Mitchell Tarran, 34, pleaded guilty in Rockhampton District Court on February 7 to one count each of robbery and deprivation of liberty.

Crown prosecutor Terance McCosker said Tarran was at another’s man’s house in Rockhampton on the morning of May 31, 2022 when he received a visitor, a 52-year-old man, who was intending to go out of town and had a bag that contained nine prescribed morphine tablets.

Mr McCosker said Tarran asked the man if he would sell him any of his tablets and that when he was told no, Tarran responded by punching the man in the face, knocking him off the couch and onto the ground.

The man felt immediate pain and sustained swelling and cuts to his right eyebrow and upper right cheek.

Tarran took the man’s bag from him and found the morphine tablets.

Mr McCosker said Tarran demanded the man get the rest of the medication, stating, “I am not asking you, I am telling you. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You’re going to drive home and get the rest of them for me”.

He said the victim complied out of fear of being further assaulted and drove Tarran to his house in Gracemere.

Once parked at the address, the man ran into his house, locked the door and called police.

Police found Tarran in the driveway of the address.

Mr McCosker said Tarran lied to police, telling officers he was there to buy some drugs from the man.

He said the man told police his morphine tablets had been taken from him, which were found inside Tarran’s pants pocket.

He said the offences were committed while Tarran was on parole.

Defence barrister Sheridan Shaw said her client had a long standing drug addiction and was looking to enrol in a suboxone program.

The court heard Tarran started using heroin when he was 12 years old.

Ms Shaw said her client was “quite anxious to get out and help” his 30-year-old sister who had suffered two heart attacks and had been quite unwell.

Judge Jeff Clarke sentenced Tarran to three years’ prison with immediate parole eligibility and 164 days pre-sentence custody declared as time served.