Drug-addict dad Alan John Jones jailed for deranged Overflow robbery at George St, Beenleigh

‘God bless, I’m sorry, I love you’: Disturbing new details have emerged in court about the Logan man who used a knife and zipties to rob from an Overflow discount store. SEE THE VIDEO

A Logan father-of-three was “high as a kite” on a cocktail of heroin and methamphetamines when he robbed a Beenleigh discount store at knifepoint, using zip ties to handcuff the traumatised staff.

Allen John Jones, 31, pleaded guilty to three counts of armed robbery with personal violence and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment at the Beenleigh District Court on Wednesday, May 5.

Jones’ defence counsel told the court their client was serving a suspended prison sentence for a similar offence when he took eight points of meth, 50 grams of heroin and decided, “as a spur of the moment act of desperation”, to rob Overflow at George St, Beenleigh.

Beenleigh man Alan John Jones, now 31, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for a violent armed robbery at Overflow warehouse on George St in August. Picture: Facebook

At 4.30pm on August 31 Jones took zip ties from the Overflow shelves and used them to “handcuff” three female employees, aged between 21 and 50-years-old.

He used a 20cm knife to threaten the women into emptying both of their tills then walked them into the office and used stolen scarfs to tie one of the women to a chair and the remaining two to each other.

The court heard the women tried to tell Jones the safe, which contained upwards of $2000, could not be opened until 7pm.

When Jones called their bluff and told them he’d wait, one of the women opened the safe “in an effort to have the situation be over and done with”.

Upon taking several thousands of dollars Jones began to demonstrate remorse, telling the women he was “a good guy” who “wouldn’t hurt them”.

“God bless, I’m sorry, I love you,” Jones said to the women, the court heard.

He gave each of the women $100 in cash, putting the notes in one woman’s purse, the other’s hand and, disturbingly, in the third woman’s underwear.

“As if she were a stripper in a nightclub,” Judge Craig Chowdhury noted, in his sentencing.

Jones took off with the cash and the employees’ phones, the theft of which led to his eventual downfall.

One of the victims used Find My iPhone to trace her phone, allowing police officers to locate Jones at a house on Snowden St at Slacks Creek.

Jones was arrested and taken into remand, where he has remained for the past 247 days of presentence custody.

Jones has been held in custody for over eight months.

In victim impact statements tendered to the court, Overflow staff described how Jones’ crimes created lasting trauma, fear and anxiety.

They told the court how they feared for their lives, wondered if they would be sexually assaulted and, to this day, suffer emotional breakdowns when triggered.

“This is one of the more serious cases of armed robbery and violence I’ve seen here,” Judge Chowdhury said.

The court heard Jones, who was born in Tasmania, had a long history of using dangerous drugs and committing armed robbery when he felt a little down on his luck.

He was homeless, drug-addicted and desperate when, at just 21-years-old, he robbed two Logan service stations with a knife, taking a total of around $800 and telling one employee he knew where she lived and would kill her.

He was sentenced to three years imprisonment and released after 12 months, after which time he met his wife Samantha Jones, fathered three children and had gainful employment as a maintenance worker for St Ursula’s College in Yeppoon, then as a labourer for construction company JM Kelly.

When JM Kelly famously went belly-up in 2018, leaving more than 200 employees financially stranded, Jones turned to liquor to drown his sorrows.

Photos of former JM Kelly subcontractor Mick Barfield's truck demonstrates the sentiments shared by hundreds of workers left in the lurch in 2018.

In a drunken haze Jones robbed a Rockhampton service station with scissors, taking $400 and several cartons of cigarettes.

For that offence he was sentenced to 4.5 years imprisonment, suspended after serving 18 months.

Upon his return to the family home, Jones discovered his wife had moved on with another man and the couple separated.

The court heard Jones was devastated and, within just six months of his release, returned to Logan, recommenced his drug use, and committed the offence at Overflow.

Jones told police he robbed the discount store because he just wanted to go back to prison, but Judge Chowdhury noted that wasn’t consistent with the facts of the case.

“(Jones) has become that rare type of offender, a repeat armed robber, and the community simply won’t stand for it,” Judge Chowdhury said.

Judge Chowdhury activated the remaining 30 months of imprisonment from Jones’ prior conviction and sentenced Jones to a head sentence of seven years imprisonment.

He will be eligible for parole after two years served.