Teen sentenced after gang bashed and robbed man in carpark
A YOUTH, 16, has been sentenced in the Supreme Court after pleading guilty to an aggravated robbery in which a man was bashed and robbed by a group of six young assailants
Alice Springs
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A YOUTH, 16, has been sentenced in Alice Springs Supreme Court after pleading guilty to an aggravated robbery in which a man was beaten up by a group of six young assailants.
The offender, who was 15 at the time of the offence, cannot be named for legal reasons.
The court heard on December 8, 2019, the offender was part of a group who robbed a 46-year-old Alice Springs resident of his car keys and $200 in a vacant lot near KFC after he had a night out.
The victim attended Bojangles and stayed there until 2.15am, at which time he walked to his vehicle, where he was approached by a male wearing a black hoodie in his late teens or early 20s, who was shorter than him, and another male who was even shorter.
The males started throwing punches to which the victim yelled “Stop, stop. I’m from here. I’m from bush.”
The offenders replied, “We don’t give a f**k.”
At this time, the offender and a co-offender (14 at the time) walked over and joined in and punched the victim, who fell over. He was punched and kicked further. A further two people then joined the group of four assailants.
While the victim was on the ground the co-offender stole his car keys and $200 cash from his wallet.
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The group, including the 15-year-old, drove away in the victim’s vehicle through the CBD and ended up at the Liberty Service Station on the Stuart Hwy.
Meanwhile the victim was conveyed to the Alice Springs hospital via ambulance to be treated for his injuries which included a black right eye and a deep laceration to his top lip which required five stitches, and some grazes on his face and elbow.
On December 8, 2019, the offender was in Alice Springs Watch House following an arrest on another matter.
He was wearing the same clothing as depicted in the CCTV footage from the Liberty Indervon. Investigating police attended and seized the offender’s clothing and shoes.
In a victim impact statement, provided in a previous sentencing, the victim said he had suffered pain for about a week, had blurred vision in his eye for about a week, and was generally sore all over.
The court heard the victim “was always looking over his shoulder” and was moving to Perth due to the incident, which also resulted in around $2000 in related costs from car repairs to ambulance costs.
Judge Graham Hiley said the offender had a “big number” of offences in his criminal history.
Defence lawyer Greg Betts said the offender had been “staying out of trouble since being released from detention”, which was in March this year.
Conditions the offender has been subject to since his arrest include residing in the community where he lives, not entering Alice Springs — unless with a need for medical attention or without permission by the community youth justice officer.
Judge Hiley said the offender was “not solely responsible” for all of the victim’s suffering but should have been “respecting” older people.
“You should’ve walked away if you couldn’t help him,” Judge Hiley said.
“What you did that night is what we hear about a lot in Alice springs and the Alice sSrings community is concerned about children.”
The court heard the offender was “smart and capable of improving himself and his education” and would benefit from remaining in his community with continual supervision under Territory Families officers.
He was given a suspended sentence of 12 months detention under the Youth Justice Act, without conviction, subject to five conditions.
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