Alexander Maricic and Abdul Derbas front court over role in Enmore heist of Ivor Sebastian

A court has heard how a wealthy inner west businessman was befriended in a barber shop and lured to a home on Instagram before being tied up and attacked while his house was raided.

One man has been jailed and another is yet to learn his fate for their involvement in a heinous robbery and attack against a Sydney business owner.

The court heard Ivor Sebastian was lured into the home of a man he befriended at a barber shop, only to be tied up and brutally bashed while two of the culprits took his security swipe, demanded his address and robbed his home.

After meeting at a barber shop, the pair exchanged Instagram messages.

According to agreed facts tendered to Sydney’s Downing Centre Court, Alexander Maricic met Mr Sebastian at Babercino’s barber shop in Enmore in Sydney’s inner west on Friday October 30, 2020.

Maricic, 26, of Belfield, spoke about music with Mr Sebastian and they followed each other on Instagram.

They exchanged messages and agreed to meet on November 2 at an Enmore home.

At about 2.30pm that day, CCTV footage captured Maricic’s co-offenders, Abdul Derbas and an unknown male (UM) entering Maricic’s house, with Derbas holding a “trade flame handy” blow torch.

Derbas and Maricic appeared at Downing Centre on Friday.

Minutes later, Mr Sebastian arrived at the building in his employer’s Ford Mustang. Maricic took Mr Sebastian to a room, where he saw Derbas, 28, of Greenacre, and the UM, neither of whom he recognised.

Shortly after, one offender punched Mr Sebastian in the back of his head causing him to fall into a foetal position on the ground. He was then punched and kicked as he lay before being tied up with black cable ties.

Mr Sebastian said: “This must be a mistake, you’ve got the wrong guy,” to which Maricic replied “you know we haven’t” and allowed Mr Sebastian to sit in a chair. The unknown male punched Mr Sebastian in the face again. Derbas went to place duct tape over Mr Sebastian’s mouth but Mr Sebastian said he would not be able to speak so Derbas put the tape down.

Maricic asked Mr Sebastian for his phone and wallet and the UM took his car keys, home access pass and his white iPhone X.

After leaving the room for a short while, Maricic returned to ask Mr Sebastian where he lived and was told Stanmore. Maricic said: “No, you liar. You told me before you live in Lewisham. We don’t f**k around. Who else does this in broad daylight without a mask?”

Derbas then struck Mr Sebastian to the left side of his face. The UM grabbed Mr Sebastian by the hair and pulled it back, which caused him to scream out in pain. The UM slapped Mr Sebastian across his face and said “stop screaming”.

Mr Sebastian begged: “Just make sure you don’t hurt my cats,” to which Maricic said they wouldn’t.

The pair were sentenced at Downing Centre Local Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

After caving in and revealing his address, Mr Sebastian said no-one was home and revealed he had around $7000 in cash, watches, jewellery and Louis Vuitton wallets in his house.

Maricic told the unknown male to stay with Mr Sebastian and to communicate through “cipher” with Maricic and Derbas, who then drove to Mr Sebastian’s residence. The UM sat in front of Mr Sebastian and held a knife in front of him.

CCTV captured Derbas and Maricic arriving at Mr Sebastian’s complex. Maricic called the UM and asked him to get Mr Sebastian to tell them how to get inside. The UM held a knife up to Mr Sebastian’s neck and made the demand, with which Mr Sebastian complied.

Derbas and Maricic and a third man stole various valuable items and demanded a code to the safe. They returned to Maricic’s home and showed Mr Sebastian what they’d taken. After untying the Mr Sebastian and warning him not to contact police, Derbas and the UM left and Maricic stayed.

Maricic’s lawyer claimed Mr Sebastian voluntarily stuck around for a “brief chat” with Maricic. During this conversation, Maricic returned the wallet belonging to Mr Sebastian’s partner and gave Mr Sebastian $150, which he later used to buy food. He told Mr Sebastian to “get himself checked at the hospital” and to come and see him the following day, which Mr Sebastian agreed to do.

CCTV showed the pair leave the residence and have another short conversation on the street. Mr Sebastian left with his keys and a black bag which he didn’t have when he arrived, but without his mobile phone.

Mr Sebastian’s partner arrived home at about 5pm, noticing the house was in disarray with clothes strewn everywhere and various items missing and damaged. When Mr Sebastian arrived home, he was visibly distressed. On Tuesday November 3, Mr Sebastian went to police and reported $7000 worth of belongings and cash stolen.

Mr Sebastian was lured to a home via Instagram.

Judge Alister Abadee told the court Mr Sebastian must have suffered much torment throughout his ordeal.

He said that while Maricic did not inflict violence himself, he stood by while it happened. He said that although Maricic was not there while the UM brandished the knife or could have known it was in his possession, he holds some responsibility for the planning.

Judge Abadee accepted Derbas played a more limited role in the incident than Maricic and that the prime motivator was to help Maricic settle a debt. Reading from documents tended to the court, he noted Maricic had a stable childhood but fell into “bad company” with people who took recreational drugs but that he had abstained from them while in custody. The judge highlighted he had some previous traffic offences but it was his first time committing crimes so serious, due to what he told his psychologist was a difficulty saying no to friends.

Reading from the court documents, Judge Abadee noted Derbas had “far from an unblemished criminal record” and that he had described himself to his psychologist as being “off the rails” from a young age. He told his psychologist he started taking cannabis from age 16 and later started using cocaine, cannabis and prescription drugs and that some of his drug issues continued while he was in jail.

Derbas pleaded guilty to taking and detaining someone to gain an advantage.

The court further considered a charge of entering a dwelling in company with the intent to steal in his overall sentence. Judge Abadee sentenced Derbas to two years and six months jail, backdated to December 14, 2020, with a non-parole period of one year and six months.

Maricic pleaded guilty to taking and detaining someone to gain an advantage and entering a dwelling in company with the intent to steal.

His sentence for both charges will be finalised in May after he obtains a sentencing assessment report to determine whether the jail term indicated by Judge Abadee should be served as full time custody or in the community as an intensive corrections order.

Judge Abadee said he has taken into account the pair’s guilty pleas in deciding the sentence length.