Masked bandits rob Laverton Bendigo Bank as terrified victims fear for their lives
A career criminal donned a Guy Fawkes disguise and threatened customers with a fake gun in a terrifying Laverton bank robbery ripped straight from a movie script.
Wyndham Leader
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A masked gunman and his balaclava-clad associate robbed the Laverton Bendigo Bank leaving terrified staff and customers in their wake.
Career criminal Peter Synan, who wore a “frightening” Guy Fawkes mask and wig, and Brendan Sanderson stormed the Aviation Rd branch just after 9am on December 21, 2017.
The violent pair ordered everyone to get down and yelled “give us all your money”, a court has heard.
Synan – armed with an imitation firearm – “took control” of staff and customers while Sanderson emptied drawers and stuffed cash into a bag.
Sanderson tried to kick-in a safe but failed so the pair fled in a stolen Nissan Pulsar with $10,300.
Sanderson later torched the getaway car.
CCTV footage of the robbery shows the victims’ terror as they were stalked by Synan.
A Bendigo Bank employee is seen reaching under her desk to trigger an alarm.
She reaches for her phone but backs off when as Synan approaches her with his makeshift weapon.
The employee and the other victims later told police they didn’t know if the gun was fake.
Synan and Sanderson were arrested several weeks after the heist.
Judge Scott Johns sentenced both men in the County Court on December 18 after they were found guilty of several charges including armed robbery.
“The robbery was executed in a relatively sophisticated even professional manner,” Judge Johns said.
“Robberies of financial institutions such as this one are a rarer occurrence these days than they once were.
“The power to control victims stems from the fear instilled by your presence and number, your demeanour, your frightening appearance, your verbal commands and the fact you were both armed.
“The robbery was over in minutes but the trauma caused to the victims was significant and it continued.”
Judge Johns said the imitation gun was a “frightening” weapon regardless of whether victims knew it was real or not.
Synan, 56, who has multiple armed robbery priors, was jailed for a maximum 10 years and six months with a non-parole period of eight years.
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Judge Johns said Synan knew the “high-stakes” when he robbed the bank.
“You came to be, in the early 1990s, one of the brazen, lawless and callous young men who engaged in high-risk activity of robbing banks and armaguard vans,” Judge Johns said.
“In the criminal milieu of that time, in which you were ensconced, an offender with the gumption and audacity to engage in that sort of activity may have obtained some eschewed status.
“What your motivation was as a 54-year-old man to reprise your earlier exploits remains a mystery.”
Sanderson, 44, was jailed for a maximum nine years with a non-parole period of six years.