‘Disguised at all times’: Red Rooster, KFC masked robber revealed

A 16-year-old ‘intellectually disabled’ boy has been unmasked as the main offender behind a string of armed robberies against Townsville’s fried chicken providers.

JUNE 3, 2023: CCTV stills provided by police.

A 16-year-old ‘intellectually disabled’ boy who was sometimes accompanied by a machete-wielding 13-year-old lookout was the main offender behind a string of armed robberies across Townsville last year.

The driving force behind the crime spree was to get money for cannabis, the court heard.

The older boy appeared in Townsville District Court on Wednesday, September 11, and it was heard he netted close to $1000 from a Red Rooster, NightOwl, and KFC in mid-2023.

CCTV footage played in court showed the then-16-year-old dressed in hoodies, gloves, and using bandannas to cover his face during the robberies.

Judge Brad Farr summed up the violent offending of the two boys as “essentially a combination of a lack of supervision, negative peer groups, and cannabis use”.

JUNE 3, 2023: CCTV stills provided by police.

Upon arrest, the children were kept in detention for a number of weeks before getting bail.

They have both been out on bail for 15 months and living with family, and their compliance with bail conditions was described as being of a “high level” by lawyers.

In regards to the 13-year-old boy (now aged 14), he pleaded guilty to armed robbery in company for one of the NightOwl robberies and and armed robbery for his actions at a coffee shop which he attended on his own at 7.30pm with a knife.

Judge Farr sentenced him to 18 months probation.

The court heard the 13-year-old told police he “was never going to hurt anyone with the knife”.

The 16-year-old boy (now aged 18) singled out as the principal offender against KFC and Red Rooster attended court in a Chicago Bulls hoodie and sat in the dock alongside his junior co-offender as the court heard details of his “moderate intellectual disability” and lack of school engagement.

“You require prompting to make positive decisions,” Judge Farr said of the older boy.

“Testing has found you to be in the extremely low range in cognitive and adaptive functions...you have a significant impairment when it comes to empathy.”

The court heard the older boy told police the person selling him cannabis had suggested he do the robberies.

The boy pleaded guilty to four counts of armed robbery (two at Red Rooster, two at NightOwl) and a stealing charge (the KFC).

Since the robberies, the older boy has been approved for NDIS funding and started receiving payments, something his lawyers hoped would be taken into account by the judge.

Judge Farr sentenced the 18-year-old to two years probation and 60 hours community service.

If the boys breach probation - either by being arrested again or not following orders from probation officers - they will be re-sentenced before the court.

Originally published as ‘Disguised at all times’: Red Rooster, KFC masked robber revealed