Tyler Beacham: Ballarat man used knife in Bendigo servo robbery

A Ballarat armed robber raised by parents “in and out of prison” held up a Long Gully petrol station because he was desperate to be thrown behind bars.

Tyler Beacham, 26, pleaded guilty to using a knife in an armed robbery of the Long Gully BP Petrol Station on December 20, 2020. Picture: Facebook

A desperate Ballarat thief raised by parents “in and out of prison” held up a rural servo with a knife hoping he would get a one-way ticket to prison, a court has heard.

Tyler Matthew Beacham, 26, appeared in Victoria County Court to plead guilty to the armed robbery of the Long Gully BP Petrol Station on December 20, 2020.

Beacham was the passenger of a 2005 Mazda when it pulled into the Bendigo business at 8.57pm.

He walked into the store wearing a facemask and grabbed two Coke bottles from the fridge.

CCTV footage captured the then 25-year-old acting agitated and he started drinking from one before he headed to the counter.

He placed the bottles on the counter and was asked if he was getting anything else.

“Whatever you have in the till,” Beacham said as he pulled out a large kitchen knife.

Beacham snatched the $200 in cash which was placed on the counter, leaving behind his knife.

He then ran back to the Mazda and jumped into the passenger seat before they sped off down Eaglehawk Rd.

Two customers who witnessed the robbery noticed their rear number plate was covered in fabric.

The two women, believing the pair had just committed a petrol drive-off, followed the car as it left the station.

They watched the Mazda pull off to the side of the road before Beacham and his driver swapped seats.

The vigilante customers pulled up 200 feet in front of the offending car in an attempt to record the registration number.

Beacham then rammed the car into the back of the woman’s vehicle, causing minor damage before they drove off again.

Police were called to the scene and within 50 minutes the pair were stopped behind the wheel of the same Mazda.

Beacham was arrested and taken to Bendigo Police for questioning and tested positive for cannabis in his system.

He told police he committed the armed robbery because “he wanted to end up in prison” and that he was “very, very, very sorry”.

Judge Pardeep Tiwana said servo robberies were a concerning use of intimidation against “soft targets” of the lone, undefended workers.

His lawyer Nicholas Rolfe said his client had a “fractured upbringing” having been raised by his grandparents with his parents “in and out of prison”.

Mr Rolfe said Beacham had a long drug history with cannabis and ice, but had participated in a nine month rehab program in Bendigo.

But he suffered a relapse after his friend took his own life in 2020.

“There’s a lot of young men like Mr Beacham who if they stayed off the drugs would not be before the courts,” Mr Rolfe said.

“He’s gone right to the top of the tree for offending.”

Mr Rolfe said after 10 months in pre-sentence detention his client had stopped using drugs and was looking remarkably more healthy.

On Tuesday Beacham pleaded guilty to the armed robbery, failure to stop a vehicle after an accident and drug driving.

Judge Tiwana ordered that he should be assessed for a community corrections order.

Beacham will return to the County Court on Tuesday October 26.