Preston Alwyn Pryor, Sean Gabriel Pryor, and Leigh Douglas Symons found not guilty of armed robbery in Townsville District Trial

A trio accused of pointing a sawn off shotgun in man’s face and robbing him have been acquitted. Read what happened throughout the course of the trial.

The court rejected crown evidence that Mr Lees was subsequently ordered by the group to pay him money or they would “blow” his head off.

A jury has acquitted three men accused of holding a sawn-off shotgun to a man’s face and robbing him of thousands of dollars.

The trial of Preston Alwyn Pryor, Sean Gabriel Pryor, and Leigh Douglas Symons concluded on Thursday, after a jury took eight hours to find the men not guilty of armed robbery.

Earlier in the week, the court heard the alleged incident took place in November 2023 after Mr Lees travelled from Longreach to Townsville, having recently received a $100,000 settlement from an unrelated legal matter.

“He was a man who never had money before, he clearly lived a pretty rough life prior to that so he was going to do some silly things,” crown prosecutor Thomasina Papadimitriou said.

Mr Lees testified that shortly after arriving in Townsville, he met two women.

When he mentioned he was interested in buying a motorbike, one of the women introduced him to her friend, Mr Symons.

Mr Lees said Mr Symons then took him to a house where he met Preston and Sean Pryor.

Sean offered to sell him a motorbike for $17,500, and Lees agreed to pay the following day, the court heard.

CCTV footage presented to the court showed Mr Lees and Mr Symons at Stockland Shopping Centre about 9am the next morning.

The crown said Lees visited a Suncorp Bank branch and transferred $17,500 into an account under Sean Pryor’s girlfriend’s name.

Shane Christopher Lees evidence was previously deemed as unreliable by defence barristers

“Whilst at the bank, Mr Lees … took out about $4,000 for himself and he also gave Mr Symons some money for him to go shopping,” Ms Papadimitriou said.

The court heard Mr Lees went on a shopping spree and spent close to $10,000 on designer items and jewellery.

About 10am, CCTV showed Symons and a woman leaving in Mr Lees’ car, leaving the alleged victim behind, the crown said.

After getting in contact with the men, Mr Lees was picked up around 5pm by Sean Pryor and Mr Symons and the two men drove him to a park, where after all three consumed cannabis and methamphetamine.

The court rejected crown evidence that Mr Lees was subsequently ordered by the group to pay him money or they would “blow” his head off.

Sean Pryor’s defence lawyer, Claire Grant, said the evidence was circumstantial and heavily reliant on the testimony of a man who had been on a “multi-day drug-induced bender.”

She argued that Lees’ credibility was deeply flawed, citing conflicting versions of his story and his criminal history.

“You simply cannot act on what (Mr Lees) says in the face of multiple different versions of events induced by drugs, alcohol, tiredness and a person who in any good orbit isn’t a good character,” she said.

She also pointed out that there was no objective evidence placing Sean at the scene of the alleged robbery.

Mr Hibble echoed concerns about Mr Lees’ testimony and labelled him a “liar” and “manipulator”.

Preston Pryor’s defence lawyer Byron Philp also questioned Mr Lees’ credibility, stating there was no evidence to suggest his client had ever even met the alleged victim.

Ms Papadimitriou argued “it doesn’t matter that he’s a criminal, the same law that punishes him should be the same law that protects him.”

Originally published as Preston Alwyn Pryor, Sean Gabriel Pryor, and Leigh Douglas Symons found not guilty of armed robbery in Townsville District Trial