Dale Hansell Gee, Sharna Ann Bagnall jailed for armed robbery

A Brisbane couple have been jailed for attempting an armed robbery with a pistol and machete on a Moreton Bay backpackers hostel.

A Brisbane couple have been jailed for attempting to rob with a pistol and machete two backpackers in a fruit-picking town north of Brisbane.

Kedron man Dale James Hansell Gee and Chermside woman Sharna Ann Bagnall, both 36 and formerly of the Caboolture area, were sentenced in Brisbane District Court on Tuesday to a raft of offences.

Bagnall and Hansell Gee both pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated attempted robbery and unlawful use of a motor vehicle to commit an indictable offence, with Hansell Gee also pleading to an additional charge of entering premises to commit an indictable offence.

The court heard the attempted robberies were committed against two backpackers in a hostel in Wamuran on October 28 last year.

Driving a stolen car with false plates to the town, Hansell Gee delivered his then-partner Bagnall, who was armed with a machete, and a third offender, Morayfield man Tyson Leedie, who was armed with a handgun, to a hostel.

There, Bagnall and Leedie approached two backpackers on the front deck of the hostel and attempted to rob them of their possessions.

Rather than freezing or complying, the two backpackers fled inside the hostel and locked the door, the court heard.

Chermside woman Sharna Ann Bagnall, 26. Picture: Facebook

Leedie and Bagnall attempted to break down the door, snapping the handle in the process, but fled when they realised they were being filmed.

Hansell Gee and Leedie then subsequently broke into a vehicle at a service station and stole property.

The trio were arrested and charged a short time later.

The court heard Hansell Gee in particular had a terrible criminal history, featuring previous convictions for armed robbery, and was effectively four months into a four-year parole release order at the time of the offending.

Hansell Gee’s parole was cancelled following the current offending and he must serve out his existing sentence, due to expire on October 6 next year.

Kedron man Dale James Hansell Gee, 26. Picture: Facebook

Bagnall, meanwhile, was granted bail but committed subsequent property-type offences which saw her remanded in pre-sentence custody on May 20 this year.

The court heard she intended to plead guilty in the Magistrates Court to those subsequent charges.

Judge Leanne Clare SC took a dim view of the offending.

“You picked the hostel because you thought it was a soft target,” she said.

“You planned it out, put serious effort into it, for what was only likely to be modest amount.

“It must have been terrifying for the two victims.”

Hansell Gee was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment cumulative on his existing sentence, with parole-eligibility set at March 9 next year.

Bagnall was sentenced to 26 months’ imprisonment with parole release on January 19 next year.

Leedie was sentenced in July this year to two-and-a-half years’ imprisonment with parole release on December 17 this year.