Haymarket wheelchair robbery: Jarrod Elphick, Nathan Laidlaw charged
A cleanskin 20-year-old handed himself in to police after footage of he and an accomplice allegedly stealing from a paraplegic went viral. Today he wept through a court hearing, as details of his own mental health battles were laid out before a magistrate.
Central Sydney
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A man charged with robbing a disabled man after he withdrew cash from an ATM in Sydney’s CBD has wept in court, where details of his mental health struggles were aired.
Jarrod Elphick appeared via video link at Liverpool Local Court today charged with steal from person.
The 20-year-old from Sanctuary Point handed himself in to police on Tuesday afternoon after police released CCTV footage of the alleged incident involving two men on Sunday morning.
Police allege Julian Stewart was the victim of a brazen theft.
The 42-year-old, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, had withdrawn his disability pension from an ATM on George St in Haymarket shortly before midday when it was allegedly stolen from him.
Police allege Mr Stewart was approached by one of two men seen loitering in the alcove, who snatched the money from his hands.
The pair then fled the area and were last seen running along George St.
Witnesses helped Mr Stewart, who was not injured, before police were contacted.
Today, Mr Elphick’s Legal Aid representative Nic Angelov applied for his release on bail.
Mr Angelov said his client was struggling with his own mental health issues, including depression, psychosis and separation disorder, and was taking medication to help him keep calm and sleep at night.
Mr Elphick, who does not have a criminal record, wept with his head bowed during the proceedings.
Mr Angelov submitted that in due course it would be shown his client was “not the monster he has perhaps been portrayed as” in sections of the media.
The court heard his parents had received death threats, which prevented his mother from attending court today in support of her son.
Mr Angelov said the nature of the allegations “do appear to occur in a context of opportunistic behaviour rather than any suggestion that there’s a great deal of planning”.
The prosecution opposed bail, citing the risk of committing further serious offences and endangering the safety of the community.
Prosecutor Jarrod Imlay alleged Mr Elphick and his co-accused Nathan Laidlaw were “loitering” near the ATM machine “for some time” and waiting for someone “vulnerable enough to steal from”.
In granting bail, Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim noted Mr Elphick did not have prior convictions and had strong ties within the community.
He will be released on bail under strict conditions preventing him from leaving his residence unless in the company of his mother and prohibiting him from contacting co-accused Mr Laidlaw.
His matter was adjourned to June 17.
Mr Laidlaw, 20, of Riverwood, was today arrested and charged with steal from person. He was granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at Burwood Local Court on August 4.
Sydney City Police Area Commander Superintendent Gavin Wood thanked the community for their assistance.
“Within the first hour of our initial appeal being posted on the NSW Police Force Facebook page, it had reached more than a hundred thousand people and had thousands of shares and comments,” Supt Wood said.
“The swift arrests demonstrate that the people of Sydney are as committed to fighting crime as their police force.”
About 11.45am on Sunday, 42-year-old Julian Stewart – who suffers from spastic diplegia (paraplegia) cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair – attended an ATM on George St, Haymarket.
He noticed two other men in the enclosed alcove area where the machine was situated. Police allege that after completing a withdrawal from the machine, he was approached by one of the men who snatched cash from his hands.