Failed bank robber Ahmed Yussuf thrown in jail after ‘frightening’ crime spree

A man has been jailed for threatening a supermarket worker with a knife and taking money from the cash register after a failed bank heist.

A knife-wielding man has been jailed over a botched North Melbourne bank robbery, and

A man who threatened a supermarket worker at knifepoint minutes after a botched bank robbery in Melbourne’s north has been thrown behind bars.

Ahmed Yussuf, 30, was handed a two year jail sentence at the Victorian County Court last week, having previously pleading guilty to charges of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.

Yussuf was charged after a failed bank robbery attempt in June 2023 at the Commonwealth Bank at Errol St North Melbourne, holding a 30cm knife and demanding a bank teller to hand over cash.

According to court documents Yussuf – wearing a hood and a face mask – brandished the knife at the bank teller through a gap in the security screen in a fiery exchange, before fleeing the scene empty-handed and leaving fingerprints behind at the door.

In his victim impact statement the bank employee submitted to the courts that he no longer felt safe at work and was now wary of anyone wearing a hood or face mask.

The man attempted to rob the North Melbourne Commonwealth Bank branch. Picture: Sarah Marshall

Minutes after leaving the bank Yussuf tried his luck at a Foodworks supermarket 130m away, threatening a female worker with the knife and taking $140 from the cash register.

With the help of CCTV and after verifying his fingerprints at the bank, police arrested Yussuf at his Flemington home two days later.

Yussuf spent 326 days in custody before his sentence.

The court heard Yussuf had endured a troubled childhood and was a victim of abuse at the hands of his mother and stepfather which resulted in several hospital admissions.

Judge Mark Gamble said Yussuf’s offending was “premeditated” and “very frightening” for his victims.

“The weapon that you chose to produce and brandish was no doubt one that instilled fear in the victim and in the other persons who were unfortunate enough to witness your crime,” he said.

“It was a brazen offence, carried out in broad daylight and in the presence and sight of a number of witnesses. It is clear that you knew that what you were doing was seriously wrong.”

Yussuf was sentenced to three years and three months imprisonment with two years non-parole.