Judge dubs man accused of stealing from a remote roadhouse ‘(one) of the most useless robbers on the planet’

A COUPLE of men who robbed a remote NT roadhouse have been described by a judge as ‘two of the most useless robbers on the planet’, a court has heard

A couple of men who robbed a Central Australian roadhouse have been described by a judge as ‘two of the most useless robbers on the planet’, a court has heard.

A COUPLE of men who robbed a Central Australian roadhouse have been described by a judge as “two of the most useless robbers on the planet”, a court has heard.

Harrison Morton, 24, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to one count of aggravated robbery and another of damage to property.

The court heard on the night of August 8, 2019 Morton and a co-offender, Keanu Ryder, 20, entered Wycliffe Well roadhouse after they had been drinking.

Crown Prosecution Kylie Heath said Ryder entered the store first and picked up a cross brace.

Morton entered the store shortly after, where he grabbed one of three employees working at the time from behind and held him in a bear-hug before pushing him into a pie warmer, which then fell off the counter and broke.

The court heard Morton told Ryder, “Try and make it fast”, before he grabbed the employee again and bit him twice on the shoulder.

Ryder, who was holding the cross brace, went behind the counter and attempted to open a locked fridge but failed.

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An employee asked the two men to leave but Ryder replied, “Nah, I need grog”.

The employee asked, “How much do you want?” to which Ryder replied, “All of it”, referring to the eight six-packs of VB in the fridge.

The employee said, “No, I can give you one six-pack if you leave the property”.

He then handed over two six-packs after Ryder demanded more.

Ryder left the store with the beer, followed by Morton, who had been holding one of the store employees in a grip.

Ms Heath said the matter was reported to police, who later found the two men parked up in a car which had run out of petrol.

Upon police arrival Morton exited the vehicle from a passenger seat and ran into bushland.

He was arrested on June 28, 2020.

Ryder was sentenced to 14- days jail on May 7, 2020.

Upon hearing the facts, Justice Judith Kelly said the pair “were totally unsophisticated in their operation”.

“Perhaps this is inappropriate to say but these would have to be two of the most useless robbers on the planet,” Justice Kelly said.

“The victims really had control of the situation, they bargained with the robbers.”

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Ms Heath said it was an “unsophisticated offence but there must have been some small degree of premeditation … It was a joint enterprise”.

Defence lawyer Tania Collins said Morton didn’t have a significant criminal history and had no priors related to robbery.

Morton was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on Thursday.

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