New Zealand national to be deported after armed robbery of student in Bendigo CBD

Marita Rouxelle, 24, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo County Court on Tuesday to one count of armed robbery and two counts of handling stolen goods.

The victim was walking home from a cultural festival in Rosalind Park at 7.45pm on March 17 last year when he was confronted by Rouxelle at the intersection of View and McKenzie streets.

He was listening to music through headphones and did not hear what Rouxelle shouted at him, but then heard her ask to use his mobile phone, which he declined.

Rouxelle produced an imitation firearm and demanded the phone, but the victim instead attempted to grab the gun causing Rouxelle to pull the trigger.

A “click” sound was heard but no bullet was fired, with Rouxelle saying “it’s loaded, I could shoot you right now”.

The victim agreed to hand over the Samsung Galaxy S3 and was allowed to remove his SIM and SD cards.

Rouxelle ran away onto Forest Street. The court heard she had been staying at the nearby Oval Motel the previous night.

The victim went to police one week later and identified the accused from a photo book, and police collected cigarette butts from the scene. The DNA matched Rouxelle.

She was arrested on April 10 when police were called to a dispute in Kangaroo Flat.

They found a stolen iPad and Nokia mobile phone, and a machete, in her possession.

Rouxelle initially denied knowledge of the robbery. She has spent 262 days in custody.

The court heard Rouxelle has an IQ of 64. She moved to Australia from New Zealand in 2012 to escape her family’s drug abuse and domestic violence

She was kicked out of her house in 2014, and then a family member’s house, and became effectively homeless in Bendigo while developing an ice habit.

Once she has finished her prison sentence, Rouxelle will be transferred to an immigration detention centre and deported back to New Zealand.

Judge Bill Stuart said while the offending was serious, it was unfortunate that Rouxelle would not get the mental health support she needed from the Australian judicial system.

“People are entitled to go about their ordinary business in a public street without being accosted,” he said.

“The fact that it was an imitation firearm lends to the conclusion that this was a relatively low level armed robbery, nonetheless every armed robbery is a serious offence.

“You are an unlawful non-citizen subject to deportation upon release. This means that what you need cannot be provided in Australia.”

Rouxelle was sentenced to 15 months prison with a non-parole period of nine months. She is eligible for release in 14 days.