Related: RSL and Foundry hit in armed robbery
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A COUNTY Court judge in Bendigo has encouraged an 18-year-old charged with armed robbery to connect with his Indigenous heritage to help him rediscover a purpose in life.
Stephen Moore, of North Bendigo, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo County Court on Monday to the armed robbery of the Bendigo District RSL and the attempted robbery of the Foundry Hotel on August 11.
He will be sentenced in Bendigo next month, along with unrelated charges for damaging a Safeway window with a baseball bat, dangerous driving, drink-driving and other charges.
The court heard Moore and his 29-year-old cousin Malaki Kirby – who is contesting his charges – netted $600 from the armed robbery of the RSL, in which Moore flashed a knife at an attendant.
He had earlier left the Foundry Hotel without any money, after demanding cash from the attendant. He did not reveal the knife during the attempted robbery.
Kirby drove Moore to both venues and both were arrested the next day. Moore led police to the location of the knife, discarded at Atkins Street Oval in North Bendigo.
Defence counsel Stephen Payne said Moore dropped out of Catholic College Bendigo in Year 8 and has spent three years “just hanging around”, by his own admission.
He started drinking at age 16, and using ice at 17.
He has spent 65 days in custody, completing an occupational health and safety course at the Melbourne Remand Centre during the continuing 20-hour lockdown.
Mr Payne said Moore had started a VCAL course and intended to study mechanics and horticulture.
Judge Irene Lawson – who assisted in establishing the Koori Court, a division of the Victorian Magistrates’ Court that sentences Indigenous people – said Moore would benefit greatly from learning about his Indigenous heritage and encouraged him to visit the Koorie Heritage Trust in Melbourne.
“I’ve seen young people like you drift through the system, but I’ve also seen some like you who have been absolutely outstanding,” she said.
“You’ve had a pretty easy-going lifestyle for a while now, but you don’t strike me as being a dumb person.
“The Koori Court can help to connect young people like you with their heritage, and I’d definitely encourage you to go to Melbourne and visit the heritage trust.”
Lawson called Moore to the witness stand to talk directly with him about his upbringing, his family and his reasons for offending.
Moore, whose family originated in Swan Hill, told the court he was eager to re-engage with his schooling and to find out more about his heritage.
“I’m really keen,” he said, when addressed directly by Judge Lawson.
“Everybody deserves a second chance.”
Moore was assessed for a community corrections order and is likely to receive a jail sentence, the court heard.
Kirby will next appear in court on February 3 and remains in custody.