Bradley Collins, 25, of Mooroopna, pleaded guilty in Shepparton County Court to attempted armed robbery, and summary charges of possessing a prohibited weapon, and fraudulently using registration plates.
The court was told Collins and his partner drove to MacIsaac Tobacco and Gift Store in MacIsaac Rd, Mooroopna on October 15 last year.
The man’s partner went inside and asked the shop worker for a price of an item and if she accepted card payment.
When she was told that it was cash only, the man’s partner went back outside to Collins.
A few minutes later, at 3.48pm, Collins went into the shop wearing a skull mask over his face and carrying a large hunting knife, which he pulled out from under his hoodie and placed on the counter in front of the shop attendant while demanding money.
The court heard that he also told the worker, whom he did not know, that “in a couple of weeks you are going to get a massive payout”.
The woman managed to escape and run to a nearby chemist where she called 000.
Collins left the store empty-handed and went home.
When police searched his house two days later, they seized a large hunting knife, and also two double-edged daggers.
The court was told that in a police interview, the apprentice welder denied any involvement in the attempted armed robbery and claimed to have been at TAFE.
He also said he drove his partner to the shop and asked her to ask the shop attendant about cigarettes, but said she didn’t know what he was going to do.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the shop attendant told how she now suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and worried about going out on her own.
She said she had to give up her job at the shop after the incident as she was afraid to serve people face-to-face.
“I can no longer work from fear it will happen again,” she said.
The woman told how she now struggled to live on just an aged pension.
The man’s defence counsel told the court her client “acknowledged that it would have been a terrifying experience” for the shop attendant, and said the incident was aggravated by there being a degree of planning as Collins went into the shop with a weapon and was disguised.
However, he said it was “relatively unsophisticated offending” and that Collins had not completed the offence, despite the worker fleeing from the store.
He also told how Collins had a number of loans — which had reached $38,000 at their peak — after having been homeless for weeks at a time and needing to pay for temporary accommodation, and also buying a car.
The defence counsel said Collins had admitted at the time he was “overdoing it” on Xanax, which he was using for chronic debilitating stomach cramps, and also told how Collins had also used cannabis since he was a teenager, but had stopped using it and Xanax after spending four days in custody after the incident.
He also told the court Collins’ partner was 35 weeks pregnant, and he was worried about how she would care for their baby on her own.
The defence counsel said Collins’ prospects of rehabilitation were good as he was still young, the four days on remand had been a “salutary experience”, he had family support, and he did not have any prior convictions.
The prosecutor said while the court had heard a lot about Collins, none of it helped the victim “to obliterate the experiences she went through”.
“She wasn’t to know what would happen when the knife was produced,” he said.
Collins will be sentenced on Friday, June 12.
Meanwhile, Collins’ partner pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and fraudulently using registration plates and was placed on a 12-month diversion in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court.
Among the conditions of the diversion were that she continue to engage with Bridge Youth Services, and not commit any further offences.
