Hobart teen spent almost a year at Ashley, but attempted murder charge ultimately dropped

A young teenage boy charged with the attempted murder of a retail worker at Harris Scarfe Moonah has had his charges dropped, despite spending nearly a year locked up at Ashley.

The boy was charged with attempted murder at Harris Scarfe Moonah on February 10 last year. Picture: Mireille Merlet

A Hobart teenager previously charged with attempted murder at Harris Scarfe Moonah has now been punished for holding up the outdoor adventure store Anaconda at knifepoint.

The boy, who cannot legally be identified, burst into the Glenorchy Anaconda store on April 1 this year with a small pocket knife, announcing he was going “to do a robbery”.

While sentencing the 16-year-old on Thursday, Supreme Court judge Stephen Estcourt said the boy pointed the knife at an employee and yelled at her to give him money.

The boy – apparently under the influence of the drug ice – then attempted to force open two cash registers, but failed, running toward the rear of the store.

He grabbed a $1000 Fluid bicycle out of the shop and rode it out of the shop towards the Brooker Highway.

The boy was arrested, but the bike and knife were not located.

Anaconda Glenorchy. Picture: Mireille Merlet

Justice Estcourt said the boy had been in custody at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre for 74 days for this and an unrelated matter.

He said while the boy had been sentenced on three occasions in the past, he had not been punished with a period in detention.

However, he spent the majority of 2023 locked up, from February to December after being refused bail over an alleged aggravated armed robbery in September 2022, then aggravated armed robbery and attempted murder in February 2023.

It is understood the aggravated armed robbery and attempted murder charges relate to an alleged stabbing at Harris Scarfe Moonah on February 10 last year.

Justice Estcourt noted the September 2022 charge ultimately proceeded as a charge of stealing and two counts of common assault, while the more serious charges from February last year “did not ultimately proceed against (him) in any form”.

He also said his time at Ashley Youth Detention Centre was” very difficult”.

“He describes being in lockdowns regularly in detention, where residents spent as little as one hour per day outside their cells, and describes that at one stage this continued for close to two months on end,” Justice Estcourt said.

Ashley Youth Detention Centre.

The judge the boy’s offending began in late 2021, after he was shot at with a gun in public, in Glenorchy and had become “hypervigilant regarding any perceived threats”.

The boy then started spending more time in the company of certain people and was told by his stepfather not to come home.

The boy – homeless, not receiving any Centrelink benefits, and with no family contact – began offending from late 2021 while “fending for himself”.

Justice Estcourt said the boy was remorseful, had pleaded guilty to the robbery, and had “appropriately reflected” on how his offending had impacted his victims.

He was convicted and given a wholly-suspended four-month period of detention.

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