Trio robbed $170 from elderly man looking for someone to talk to on his birthday, court hears

AS the victim drove past two of the robbers in the car park, he ‘appeared to be staring at (the woman) as if he was sexually interested in her’, the court heard

Three people who robbed an elderly man on his birthday have pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court.

A TRIO of crooks who stole $170 from an elderly man who was out “looking for someone to say ‘hello’ to” on his birthday have pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to aggravated robbery.

Crown prosecutor Hamish Riley told the court the 72-year-old victim had first driven to Palmerston on March 1 last year before heading to Casuarina Square.

Mr Riley said as the man drove past Clinton Gowley, 41, and his girlfriend Veronica Huddleston, 30, in the car park, he “appeared to be staring at Huddleston as if he was sexually interested in her”.

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He said it was then the pair hatched a plot to lure him somewhere less public and rob him.

Huddleston yelled out to the man and he drove back and stopped and she approached his van, asking him if he had any grog, to which he said ‘no’.

The victim then asked Huddleston if she had a husband and she said she was waiting for her sister before the man offered her a lift home.

She told him to wait while she had a discussion with Gowley before coming back, getting into the van and asked him to drive to the back of the Casuarina library so she could go to the toilet.

As they were driving there, Gowley armed himself with a sharp object and he and Clinton Wunungmurra, 20, then emerged from behind the building before Gowley opened the passenger side door, saying “You’ve got my missus, you dirty old thing”.

Gowley held the sharp object against the man’s neck, demanding money and the victim handed over $170 before Wunungmurra opened the driver’s side door and began to wrestle the man’s wallet from him, knocking him to the ground.

All three then fled the scene but were captured on CCTV and later arrested.

Gowley’s lawyer, Peter Bellach, said while he had earlier cross examined the victim to “clarify” the circumstances leading up to the robbery, his client had always intended to plead guilty.

Mr Bellach said there was “a sexual element to the whole situation, where you have the victim driving around a public car park at night on his birthday” which could have affected Gowley’s moral culpability.

Mr Bellach said he “wanted (the victim) to admit” under cross examination he’d planned to give Huddleston alcohol in exchange for sex but “ultimately he didn’t accept that” and there was no evidence before the court to support the theory.

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Wunungmurra’s lawyer, Beth Wild, said he had only become involved in the robbery after Gowley ran past him saying “My missus is in a car with a dirty old man, follow me” and was now sorry for what he’d done.

In reply, Mr Riley pointed out the robbery plot would have worked “just as well on a good Samaritan offering a woman a lift” as a man seeking an illicit sexual encounter, which the victim denied.

Gowley and Wunungmurra will return to court for sentencing next month while Huddleston had already pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in jail, suspended after six months.