Prosecutors seek ‘dangerous criminal’ declaration for bank robber and former Risdon escapee Marcus Denis Mayne

Prosecutors have applied for a convicted bank robber with a history of violence and prison escapes to be declared a dangerous criminal.

Marcus Denis Mayne was found on a yacht in Geilston Bay after escaping from Risdon Prison in September 2015. Picture Nikki Davis-Jones

PROSECUTORS have applied for a convicted bank robber with a history of violence and prison escapes to be declared a dangerous criminal.

It comes after a Supreme Court jury on Wednesday found Marcus Denis Mayne, 32, guilty of a September 2017 armed robbery at a Launceston bank.

Mayne had denied being the man who stole more than $2000 cash from the ANZ Mowbray branch after threatening a customer with a knife.

But the jury returned a majority verdict after being shown CCTV footage of Mayne wearing similar-looking clothes and shoes earlier that day as the man caught on the bank’s security footage before the robbery.

It’s not the first time Mayne has been convicted of robbing a bank.

He was serving a sentence for a previous robbery when he escaped from Risdon’s minimum security section in September 2015, sparking a manhunt that ended two hours later when he was arrested on a yacht in Geilston Bay.

The court on Wednesday heard Mayne’s lengthy criminal history also included dishonesty offences and assaults on police.

Mayne was removed from the court during sentencing submissions after he spat and interrupted prosecutor John Ransom, who had made the application for him to be declared a dangerous criminal.

Dangerous criminals are kept in custody even after their sentence expires until they make a successful application to have their dangerous criminal status removed.

A report will be sought from the state’s chief forensic psychiatrist to determine whether the Director of Public Prosecutions proceeds with the application.

Mr Ransom said Mayne had shown a “clear lack of remorse” for the Mowbray bank robbery, which had left hiss victims with post traumatic stress.

The court heard the bank teller from whom Mayne demanded money during the robbery had not returned to work.

Mayne’s barrister Evan Hughes said Mayne had been severely disadvantaged since birth, effectively being raised by a brother two years his senior.

Mr Hughes said Mayne was a mentor and hard worker in the prison system, who has taken on several volunteer roles and showed a willingness to tackle a “longstanding, significant and voracious” drug addiction.

The court heard Mayne’s history of escape had forced corrections officers to keep him in maximum security confinement.

Justice Robert Pearce said the bank robbery would lead to a “lengthy sentence of imprisonment”.

He adjourned the case until April 10, to determine whether the dangerous criminal application should be heard at the same time as his sentencing for the bank robbery.