Elijah Fiti Fuli guilty of armed robbery after hijacking car at knifepoint in Southport

A young man involved in a “traumatic” carjacking at Southport was on parole and bail for robberies involving knives at the time.

A young man who helped hijack a car at knifepoint was on both parole and bail for similar robberies at the time.

Elijah Fiti Fuli and his group approached their target while the vehicle was parked at a set of traffic lights on Wardoo St, Southport at about 8.30pm on April 23 last year.

Southport Magistrates Court was told the group surrounded their victim’s car and then got in through the passenger doors, forcing the male driver to get out and flee to the traffic island in the middle of the road. The car was then driven away.

Crown prosecutor Ryan Godfrey said Fuli, now 20, had already been convicted of several past robberies involving knives.

Mr Godfrey said Fuli’s history included encouraging two others to rob a group of younger teenagers on Brisbane’s Victoria Bridge – during which a knife was used to threaten one of them – and targeting another pair of victims in the capital city’s Botanic Gardens while brandishing a knife.

Fuli appeared in court via videolink from jail for this week’s sentencing.

Defence barrister James Wallace said his client was remorseful and had good support in the community, with hopes of gaining qualifications and finding work in the future.

Judge Rowan Jackson said Fuli was quickly developing an “appalling” criminal history and that his latest offence would have been “tramautic” for the victim.

Judge Jackson said the young man’s efforts to gain new skills while in custody were a “glimmer of hope”.

“You’ve got to realise at some point that you’ve been offered all of this assistance in the community by probation and parole to take steps to improve your life,” Judge Jackson said.

“It’s ultimately up to you – if you don’t, you need to realise that what you’ll end up doing is spending a lot more time where you are now.”

Fuli pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery.

He was sentenced to 15 months’ jail with immediate parole eligibility.