Anne-Marie Gallacher sentenced for Warrawong service station armed robbery

A masked mother who robbed a service station of cigarettes and terrified staff armed with a box cutter felt “guilty” so she handed herself into police.

Anne-Marie Gallacher, 29, avoided jail when she was sentenced for an armed hold up. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

A masked mother who robbed a service station of cigarettes and terrified staff armed with a box cutter felt “guilty” so she handed herself into police.

Anne-Marie Gallacher, 29, told Wollongong District Court on Wednesday that she “felt bad and it was the right thing to do” to tell investigators about her involvement in the armed robbery.

Gallacher wore all black and only had her eyes exposed when she went to a King St, Warrawong BP service station in the early hours of the morning on December 28, 2022 with her friend.

She pulled out a silver box cutter, placed it on the counter and demanded “give me all the money in the till,” at a male employee.

When the man refused, she again demanded money and said “or my friend with the gun’s going to come in”.

Gallacher climbed onto the counter, continued to yell for the till to be opened, while staff locked themselves in a room. One of the employees asked her to leave several times but she jumped down, opened the cigarette cabinet and grabbed six packets of Winfield.

Gallacher and her friend fled the service station and dumped their clothes a short distance away, with the incident captured on CCTV.

CCTV image of Anne-Marie Gallacher during an armed robbery. Picture: NSW Police

Police later released images of the robbers on social media asking for the public’s help to identify them, which prompted Gallacher to hand herself in against legal advice.

During her sentencing, defence lawyer Matt Kwan submitted investigators would not have been able to identify or arrest Gallacher had she not told police about her involvement.

The court heard Gallacher had been on meth during the robbery but had not taken any since.

She was also clean after becoming addicted to prescription opioid medication.

The court heard Gallacher had a supportive mother and stepfather, but wanted to move out of the Wollongong area to “start fresh”.

She also sought mental health treatment given she was a victim of domestic violence and other traumas.

Gallacher was sentenced in Wollongong District Court.

The court heard Gallacher had committed three other offences including intimidation, being driven in a car without the owner’s consent and dishonestly dealing with the proceeds of crime in 2023 – while on bail for the armed robbery – which she had already been sentenced to good behaviour orders.

Judge Andrew Haesler said the armed robbery was serious given the risk to the public and the fear she put staff members in.

He noted the “unusual circumstance” of her handing herself in, adding it seemed unlikely she would have otherwise been arrested and he agreed to reduce her sentence.

Judge Haesler noted the significant steps she had taken towards her rehabilitation, her need to be in the community and he took into account the violence and coercive control she suffered.

Gallacher pleaded guilty to armed robbery and larceny.

She was sentenced to a jail sentence to be served in the community in the form of an intensive correction order for one year and nine months, where she must continue her mental health treatment and undertake drug relapse prevention.