Tristan Gilbert pleads guilty to robbery in Maroochydore court

A court was told how a man who robbed a woman with a tyre iron fled police and thrust himself into a stranger’s car the next day.

Tristan Gilbert at an unrelated appearance at Launceston Magistrates Court more than a decade ago.

A man who robbed a woman at a storage facility using a tyre iron launched himself into a woman’s car the next day while fleeing from police, a court has heard.

Tristan Gilbert, 43, wore prison greens as he sat in the dock at Maroochydore District Court on April 16 before the details of his offences were aired.

Crown prosecutor Alex Stark told the court the offending started on March 13, 2024 after an ongoing dispute with a woman over items in a storage unit regarding a debt.

He told the court Gilbert wore a balaclava and was armed with a tyre iron when he and a mate jumped the fence of Mammoth Storage at Corbould Park, where the woman was at her storage unit that day.

Mr Stark said the victim was at the bathroom when Gilbert attacked her and pressed the tyre iron into her neck, saying “you’re f---ed, you little b----”.

Gilbert then stole her handbag with her valuables inside, as a bystander began to film the altercation and called police, the court heard.

The video from a bystander was played in court, in which the victim could be heard screaming “help” and sobbing.

She had told the bystander Gilbert had “just attacked” her before she yelled at the retreating man to return her bag, footage showed.

The person who accompanied Gilbert is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Tristan Gilbert at an unrelated appearance at Launceston Magistrates Court more than a decade ago.

Mr Stark said police visited Gilbert’s home the following day, but only his housemate was there.

During their visit, officers found a paddle board and a mountain bike which were tainted property.

The court heard when police returned later the same day, Gilbert fled from his Battery Hill home and crossed a waist-deep creek before he signalled a random car to stop.

The car, driven by a woman with her 17-year-old son as a passenger, eventually stopped on the road.

Mr Stark said the woman thought Gilbert needed help when she wound down her window, but Gilbert then ripped open her car door and tried to drag her out by the arm.

He eventually threw himself into the car, essentially sitting on the woman, until her son managed to pull him out and hold him down until police came, the court heard.

When police arrested him, Gilbert landed a punch to one of the officer’s faces.

Defence barrister Lachlan Ygoa-McKeown said Gilbert still had the support of his partner and parents, who had provided him a place to live upon his release.

He intends to work at his parents’ plant nursery and connect with his four daughters upon release.

Mr Ygoa-McKeown said Gilbert had realised the negative impact of drugs on his life, and had sought treatment during his time in jail.

He told the court his client described his own actions as a “mistake” which could cost him years of freedom, and felt deeply sorry for the driver.

Judge Gary Long sentenced him to six years of imprisonment with parole eligibility on November 13, 2025.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of robbery while armed with violence, serious assault of a police officer, unlawful entry of a vehicle and committing an indictable offence and possessing tainted property.

Gilbert also pleaded guilty to three counts of obstructing a police officer.