Simoi Alexander Sipi in court for armed robbery in Hervey Bay

A man was threatened and robbed in the car park of the Torquay Hotel after being lured there by another person and his alleged accomplice.

Simoi Alexander Sipi pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery at the Hervey Bay District Court.

A man who threatened and robbed a man with a sharp object after being awake for four straight days will spend more time behind bars.

In May 2024, Simoi Alexander Sipi, 33, lured a man into a carpark with the alleged help of a female accomplice who took the man’s glasses near the Torquay Hotel, Hervey Bay, the district court heard this week.

It was then that he showed “two sharp instruments” to the man, Crown Prosecutor Aden Tranent said.

Mr Tranent said there had been some debate about what the instruments actually were, but the prosecution’s submission was that they were sharp objects while the defence claimed it was a screwdriver.

Sipi, wearing all black, demanded the glasses before the man moved away from the pair.

After he tried to remove himself from the situation, he had his backpack grabbed by Sipi but was able to retrieve it moments later.

Police searched Sipi’s home in June, 2024, and arrested him on July 11, nearly two months after the robbery.

Defence barrister Jack Kennedy told the court Sipi had not slept in four days at the time of the robbery, due to consuming large amounts of methamphetamine.

He has previous domestic violence offences against his former partner from the Cairns Magistrates Court on April 11, 2022, including threatening to kill her and assaulting her by dragging her down the driveway, which led to an assault occasioning bodily harm charge.

The armed robbery took place in a carpark near the Torquay Hotel, Hervey Bay.

He was placed on parole, but breached the conditions and sent back to jail after three weeks.

Sipi was then released from prison on December 4, 2023, and committed the most recent offence five months later.

Mr Kennedy told Judge Ian Dearden that Sipi wanted to reunite with his son upon release.

“You’ve got to change your life,” Mr Dearden said.

“If you’re going to get out and stay out, you’ve got to make sure you stay off meth and off the grog as well.”

Sipi pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery and was sentenced to three years imprisonment, with a parole release date set at July 10, 2025 after already serving 225 days in custody.

Originally published as Simoi Alexander Sipi in court for armed robbery in Hervey Bay