Gympie man had gun to his head a month after robbing someone

He was just 17 when he drove the victim's car to a servo and took his money.

A Gympie region man confronted another man in a playground before driving his car and stealing money from his EFTPOS card. FILE PHOTO. Picture: Jodie Locke

A YOUNG Gympie man found himself the victim of a violent and terrifying armed robbery just months after he drove another man's car and used his EFTPOS card to steal $70.

The man, now aged 19, was 17 when he confronted his 19-year-old victim in a playground near a bus stop at around 10:30pm on January 4 last year.

The court heard the victim had driven there to meet a girl (who was known to the offender) before being confronted by a group of males including the offender in the playground.

The man first asked the victim if he had any money, saying "b------" when told no, before asking him to hand over his phone, calling it "s-----" when he produced it.

The offender eventually settled on the victim's EFTPOS card and asked him to hand over his car keys, after which both the offender and the victim - and the offender's 15-year-old co-accused - drove to a nearby service station.

The victim gave up his card and his PIN number, allowing the co-accused to withdraw money from a teller.

The trio returned to the vicinity of the bus stop and stopped the car, with both co-accused then walking away.

The victim called police after he noticed $70 had been withdrawn from his account when checking it later that night.

The offender was later linked to the crime in July when he was stopped by police, but was unable to participate in an interview because he was under the influence at the time.

Judge Suzanne Sheridan noted the man's youth at the time of offending and strong family support in the court in sentencing him to two years' probation.

Judge Sheridan also noted his "horrifying" encounter with similar offending when he had a gun pointed at his head by an armed robber in February last year.

He had been made to take off his shirt and shorts before being told to run, hearing a gunshot which had been fired to scare him.

A conviction was not recorded against him.

Originally published as Gympie man had gun to his head a month after robbing someone